


What Could Have Been

by Meaninglessness



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angry Yuri Plisetsky, Anxiety, BAMF Katsuki Yuuri, Dark Victor Nikiforov, Established Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Loyalty, M/M, Matchmaker Phichit Chulanont, Oblivious Katsuki Yuuri, Pining, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Sad Katsuki Yuuri, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Yuri is Done with this Shit, just a little
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:02:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10065095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaninglessness/pseuds/Meaninglessness
Summary: Not everything was great, in fact there were a lot of things Yuuri would've loved to change, but he was happy with the way life was. He and Victor were very much in love, even if they fought and sometimes even hurt each other. Then tragedy strikes and Yuuri somehow finds himself way back before anything, literally anything, had happened. Everything seems like a dream, but this time, he's determined to fix things, unable to ignore the anxiety and worries chipping away at him.In which Yuuri (sort of) attempts a time travel fix it and vows to stay loyal to his Victor, even if it means he can be no more than a best friend for this younger Victor. On the other hand, Victor swears he's in love and accidentally keeps fucking things up, Yuri is done with these two idiots and just wishes they'll do what everyone had practically been waiting a decade for, and Phichit is a hard-core shipper who will not leave the idea of Victuuri alone no matter what Yuuri says. (Because they are totally in love and don't bloody realize it.)





	1. Child

**Author's Note:**

> Hahahaha, forgive me, readers, for I have started a new fic lmao. I've obsessed with Victuuri time travel rn, but I've always wondered what would happen if a) Yuuri wanted to stay true to the Victor from his original time and b) Yuuri started back from the beginning. Like, the very beginning. Birth beginning. And c) if Yuuri's anxiety totally fucks things up.
> 
> I probably won't finish this...? Also, I know a total of jackshit about music and figure skating, yet I'm still writing this goddamn fiction. It's 99% for fun and 1% for practice on researching skills (which I never put to use because I'm a lazy asshole). It is, however, 1000% because I love time travel and I love Yuri!!! On Ice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri isn't your typical child.

_This... this wasn't meant to happen. Oh, Kami, please give me another chance..._

Yuuri wasn't sure when it started, but what mattered was that it was there. He was a normal child, of that he was certain, more certain than any child should have the right to be. He wasn't the most social or confident of children, true, but he played and laughed and cried like any other child.

And at night, he dreamed, he dreamed of a life he had yet to live, of love and of strife and of the ice. Of him, on the ice and the gentle regard of a man he loved. He experienced and remembered things no child should've remembered, and woke up thinking it a incredulous dream.

His disregard for his own dreams should've clued him in to how he wasn't a normal child. A normal child did not so easily dismiss such thinking as absurd, didn't hide the effect of the dreans with such efficiency, didn't know love and lust. Yet Yuuri did. Yuuri was somehow both a child and an adult at once. He remembered a life with a silver-haired lover. He was quick to pick up speech because he remembered speaking it in his dreams. He walked awkwardly, like he was used to walking in the dreams. He was convinced, however, that he was a normal child.

The second thing that should've broke him from that idea was the first time he ice skated.

He was, of course, with Yuuko and Takeshi when he first set foot upon the ice. Nervous and anticipatory, Yuuri had laced up his rental skates with Yuuko chattering away excitedly and Takeshi pouting a little. It was almost in a daze that Yuuri stepped onto the ice. It was like he was possessed by his dreams. He barely noticed Yuuko and Takeshi slipping and sliding beside him like baby deer as they tried to steady themselves for the first experience on ice, but Yuuri simply put his foot down and that was that.

Yuuri was _flying_.

No, he wasn't flying, he was gliding on the ice, half-formed and involuntary movements guiding his feet as he made his way across the ice with ease. Something, something about this brought tears to his eyes and a stinging pain to his chest, but he glided like it was home, making his way quickly to the center. It felt both liberating and heart-wretchingly familiar. It really bdid feel like flying, not that he would know how that felt. The first position was automatic and unseen by their teachers who were too busy fussing over the unsteady novies. His arms moved slowly to a phantom tune, a music he had never heard, but he knew was his nonetheless.

He picked up speed and it was with a slight nudge of his foot that sent him spinning and...

 _Pain_.

He was sent sprawling onto to the ice by the momentum he wasn't truly sure how he gained. Yelping as he fell back, he felt tears gather in his eyes. What on earth was he doing? That hurt! Ow...

"Katsuki-kun!" the intrustor that was teaching them sounded furious and worried as she skated over. "What do you think you're doing!? You could've gotten really hurt!" Yuuri whimpered and continued crying as he was lectured and picked up off the ice. He wasn't hurt badly. It was more of a shock than anything, but there was a weight in his chest that kept the tears coming. It was so heavy that he didn't bother responding to Takeshi's teasing of him being a crybaby, even as Yuuko chewed the other boy out.

That night, Yuuri's dreams were more vivid as ever as he glided across the cold ice, sometimes with a silver haired man skating with him, sometimes with the silver haired man watching him from a sitting position. Yuuri woke up with tears on his pillow and a serene smile on his face.

* * *

Yuuri dreamed of tragedy.

He dreamed of two men who's careers and passions were cut too short. One, by his own recklessnes, and another by a fateful accident.

Yuuri was dancing on the ice, first alone and scared, and then he was joined by two others. The silver-haired man and the blonde. Then he was alone again and they were watching from the sidelines and cheering. Everyone was cheering and Yuuri knew this was the taste of victory, but he wondered why it felt so bittersweet. From the sidelines he saw the longing and pride of both the other men, one older and the other younger, but both so equally as passionate as Yuuri was.

Yuuri wondered why they didn't skate with him.

The answer came to him with the crushing weight of sorrow and guilt he _knew_ he wasn't meant to feel at such a young age.

_(Victor)_

_2017 and Yuuri was at the top of his game. This time, he was prepared to win gold, even against his old coach. He had gotten to the rink early at mostly a whim, to stretch a little and simply look around. He had left his husband and his rival back in the hotel to do this, neither Russian having gotten up yet due to their abrupt and reckless drinking competition earlier. They were lucky that today wasn't the day of the Short Programs. They had the day to sleep off their hangovers. He skated around the rink a bit and did a couple of jumps out of boredom, a smile on his face. He was strangely excited rather than nervous to be competing against the other two._

_He hummed, thinking about the year of preparations he had gone through as he did a sit spin and then a triple axel, having warmed up enough by now. A loud ringing nearly made him fall out of the triple toeloop he was doing and he quickly rightened himself and ot off the rink, replacing his blade guards as he sat in the stands. With a swipe of his thumb, he answered the incoming call on his phone..._

_"Yuuuuuuriiiii!"_

_Only to immediately pull away when his husband and former coach practically screamed into his ear._

_"Why did you leave me here, Yuuri!?" Victor whined._

_"Shup up, old man!" Ah, that was definitely Yurio in the background._

_Yuuri chuckled as Victor continued to whine, ignoring Yurio's increasingly loud and obscene curses in the background._

_"Where are you and what are you doing, Yuuri!?"_

_"I'm at the rink doing some practices in preparation for the Grand Prix Finals, of course."_

_"Wait right there! I'm coming over - Ow, Yurio!"_

_"Don't call me that!"_

_(Victor no dont come Victor)_

_"Don't -hang u... p, Yu-uri!"_

_Yuuri sighed a little at his husband's antics. He was pretty sure Yurio was beating Victor over the head with a pillow, if the muffled thumps, curses and breaks in talking on the other end were any indication. "I won't," he nonetheless promised and took the sudden absence of cursing as Victor having gotten out of the room._

_True to his character, Victor kept up a stream of endless chatter as he made his way to the rink and it was only ten minutes later that Yuuri thought to interupt._

_"Victor, you're not driving while talking to me, are you?"_

_"Eheheh, maybe?"_

_Yuuri sighed again, this time much more audibly, but his voice held the hint of a smile as he replied. "Seriously Victor, you shouldn't do this."_

_"But I've missed your voice!"_

_"You only just heard me yesterday."_

_"And that's hours too long!"_

_"Still," Yuuri persisted, though he was smiling openly now at Victor's childishness. "It's not safe. You should be careful." (Hang up please hang up now)_

_"I'm always careful! I-"_

_Yuuri frowned, feeling something in his chest sink as Victor abruptly cut himself off. "Victor?"_

_Beeeeeeep-_

_"Victor! Victor! VICTOR!"_

_(No no no nonono_

_My fault myfaultallmyfault)_

_Yuuri felt like his life was ending. This was a repeat of history, a terrible one, One he felt like he could've stopped if he had just reached out a little more, been a little more considerate._

_"I'm only 19."_

_Yurio's eyes were wide and Yuuri could see the fear there. It was the fear of losing the only thing you lived for._

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Plisetsky, but you've simply pushed your body too far. You won't be able to skate competitively anymore."_

_(no)_

And Yuuri woke with the understanding that one day two people will have their passion taken from them and passed thr day by in a state of melancholia so deep, even Takeshi was asking if he was okay. The following night he decided he would skate and become the best figure skater he could ever be, for both himself and the two who oft starred in his dreams. Determination lit his eyes and he didn't bother questioning why he was taking a dream so seriously.

(He failed to completely crush the voice that said it was real, that said he could prevent it, that blamed him for everything)

* * *

Yuuri also dreamed of love and life.

_"Victor..."_

_Yuuri's voice was soft as he addressed the love of his life. It broke his heart to see the look in Victor's eye as the silver-haired man gazed quietly at the ice rink in front of them. His body seemed to be dwarfed by the wheelchair that supported him and, for the first time in Yuuri's life, Victor looked small. But, when Victor looked back at him, he was smiling a small, muted smile._

_Victor stayed with him, despite the pain Yuuri knew he felt when Victor watched him skate. There was always that idea of 'I could've been like that' and 'I could be there with you' and 'that could've been me' that never really left Victor's eyes. And even after Yurio had lost the ability to compete, he hadn't raged like Yuuri had thought he would. He accepted it with a quiet dignity that was uncharacteristic of him, with the slightest glance at Victor._

_Yuuri had felt tears come to his eyes at that, as Victor smiled and said, "Don't worry, Yurio, you'll still be able to skate."_

_Because Victor couldn't anymore. He couldn't even stand._

_Yet Victor still stuck with Yuuri. Victor still coached him, even if he couldn't demonstrate anymore, and Victor came to every single one of his competitions no matter how much it pained him. And Yuuri loved Victor so, so much for it. It was his Victor, who had stuck with him through everything. Who loved him and endured for him. Who was now more quiet more often, but was still Victor and still wonderful and Yuuri wouldn't replace him for anything._

_"Yuuri, I love you."_

_"I love you, too..."_

_For Yuuri, it was only Victor and for Victor, there was only Yuuri._

This time when he woke, it was with such piercing love and pain that Yuuri knew he could love no one else but his Victor. Even if Victor was only a figment of his imagination, he would love Victor and only Victor.

* * *

 

Yuuri took figure skating seriously, beyond seriously. He was good at it, great even, a prodigy some would say, having seen him at his most focused. Others believed he wouldn't be able to do it competitively. Too nervous, not suited for crowds. But when Yuuri was on the ice, he would change, become an entirely different person no matter how nervous he was beforehand. Yuuri skated because he loved it. Yuuri skated in the memory of two people who probably didn't exist and never would. Yuuri skated with the memory of doing things he had never done. Yuuri skated to the emotions his dreams had brought him.

And until the day he was introduced to Victor Nikiforov, Yuuri never questioned the dreams, never put them at the forefront of his mind. But Victor Nikiforov made them real.

Yuuko was so excited that day and so was Yuuri as they gushed over Victor in awe. Victor was brilliant and amazing and graceful and so, so awesome. Yuuri felt something strange swell in him as they watched Victor compete in the Junior Grand Prix Finals, but his excitement drowned out any other distant emotions. Yuuri was so in awe.

Victor was absolutely beautiful when he performed, and Yuuri found himself admiring Victor's every move. (He strangely felt like a peodophile even though he was younger than the other). Something in his chest tightened as he watched and wished Victor could be like this forever (But one day it would end). Victor's love for the ice was written into his every jump and spin and it was beautifully painful to watch.

In that single moment, he realized it was real, that everything was real and he had somehow, inexplicably, started his life over again. Yuuri was both a man and a child, and he had been given the gift of a second chance. He didn't even feel the tears until Yuuko poited them out.

"Eh, Yuuri! Are you okay? Why are you crying?"


	2. Novice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's anxiety fucks things up as he decides what exactly he should do during his very first Novice competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I doooooiiiiing??? I should be replying to Oxford about school fees and writin my Internal Assessments but instead I am in the warm and dark and lovely pit called Yuri!!! On Ice XDXD
> 
> YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH RESEARCH I HAD TO DO FOR THIS BLOODY CHAPTER. I HATE RESEARCH. I'VE WRITTEN LIKE 5 RESEARCH PAPERS THIS YEAR OH MY GOD.
> 
> I've found a really good post on a site that helped greatly by summing up all the age requirements and stuff for figure skating. Better than wikipedia or any official site, I swear. Well, then I saw the official guidelines lol. Also, I know nothing about Novice Figure Skating Competitions and this is my first time writing a performance ahahaha. I think they started in 2011 in Japan, but I don't care! They can start early or whatever in this fic! Can you believe I actually read the official guidelines for international novice competitions!? And Novice Level Competitions are so soooooo hard to research! I looked up the creation dates for online news, Youtube, Tumblr, Facebook, digital journalism, etc, just for this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Goddamnit do I hate dates. I'm assuming that the Sochi GPF took place in the 2015 - 2016 season in December 2015, where Yuuri was 23, and the Barcelona GPF took place in the 2016 - 2017 season, where Yuuri was 24, this makes Yuuri's first competable Figure Skating season the 2003 - 2004 season, since he turns 10 on November 29th 2002 which is after the July 1st 2002 cut off for the 2002 - 2003 season.

 Yuuri's childhood was weird, now that he really thought about it. But this was only when he compared it to his original childhood. By the age of 9, Yuuri was already seen as a prodigy on the ice by his instructors at Ice Castle, and many bemaoned the fact that he wasn't old enough to compete nationally or internationally due to age restrictions. He would have to wait two years before he could compete in the novice division, no matter how his instructors pushed for the JSF to bend the rules a little. He wasn't only a prodigy on the ice though, but also in school. Everything he learned was something he had already been through a lifetime ago. Yuuri felt some small measure of guilt for this, since he literally had years on his classmates and rinkmates. He didn't want to do any competing, not yet, and he didn't think he'd be able to take so much media attention at this age, no matter how much experience he had. He was just infintely glad that it was 2 years too early for Youtube.

However, this didn't stop him from being bullied and outcasted.

He was mentally... how old now? 38? 39? And he was still felt the tad bit awkward in his small body. When doing spin practice and jump practice, he had to focus to not overcompensate for his lack of weight and height, like he had done the first time he was on the ice. If he let himself drift too much, he'd fall into the familiar motions of programs done a long, long time ago. God forbid he start the Eros routine in full view of, well, anyone. He also refused to skip grades. While his memories gave him more time to spend on doing ballet and figure skating, since he didn't need school, it made him stand out.

It was safe to say that Yuuri did not fit in. At all.

Perhaps, if he was willing and old enough to compete, it would be a little better, but for now he had to face the jealousy and doubt of his classmates. He didn't have anything to show for his talents, for all that they were there right now. But he was an adult and they were just children.

To be completely honest though, the attitude of his classmates still hurt, even after his realization. Luckily, he still had Yuuko and, to some extent, Takeshi as his friends.

Nonetheless, he felt almost refreshed after watching Victor perform and dedicated himself to getting better, getting stronger, in preparation for the future, whatever it would bring.

* * *

 

Even with his realization that things had started over, the real impact of such a second chance didn't truly hit him until after his tenth birthday, when he was pushed into joining the interclub competition that was to be held at the ice castle, his homerink.

Yuuri was pretty damn sure he had not signed up and didn't even know he was due to compete until five days before the competition itself when a cheerful Minako burst into the rink asking what program Yuuri was going to perform to represent the club. Yuuri had spent the following days freaking out and reading over the requirements for novices and editing out all his triple jumps (they weren't allowed) and all his jump combinations with more than two jumps (which also weren't allowed). He then polished off his step sequences and practiced spinning. He had found that spins were the hardest to get used to and tended to spin too fast. He had even managed to give himself a light concussion from intense spinning practice once (an experience he was _not_ eager to relive).

The day of the competition found Yuuri surprisingly nervous as he waited for his turn with the other skaters in the stands. The Basic Novices were going first before the Advanced Novices and, while there weren't nearly as much spectators in the stands or high technical-difficulty moves in the performances, the air was a lot less friendly than at the competitions that adult Yuuri had entered. It wasn't exactly hostile or tense, per say, but no one really knew anyone else and all kept to their own clubs.

Yuuri didn't recognize any competitors except for Yuuko and Takeshi, but they weren't here since Yuuko was a girl and Takeshi was participating as a Basic Novice.

It started out fine as Yuuri stretched and got ready for his turn on the ice. He was the 7th out of 15 participants, and therefore going right in the middle.

"The first participant of the Novice A Men's is Kazuki Yuma, age 13 from..." The rest of the words of the announcer was drowned out by Yuuri's thoughts as he watched the young boy take to the ice. Did Victor or Yuuri ever participate in the Novice competitions? Yuuri frowned a little. He didn't think so. At least not in International Novice competitions. They definitely participated in Junior ones though. How long had they been skating competitively then before...? Yuuri bit his lip, feeling the familiar guilt swell up like a balloon.

Yuuri knew he couldn't have known that the consequences of their each individual action would've led to the early retirement of both Victor and Yurio, but he couldn't help but blame himself anyways... If only...

Yuuri shook his head, trying to focus on the competition. It may have not been a Grand Prix Final, but it was still his debut into the Figure Skating world.

Unable to help himself, he glanced up, only to gasp as Yuma did a Triple Toe Loop.

Wait, what? But... Wasn't it not allowed...?

Yuuri had never participated in a Novice Competition before, so it was perfectly natural to completely freak out. Had he been dumbing down his routine for nothing? Eyes wide with panic and chest feeling a little tight, Yuuri teetered a little as he turned to his parents. "Mom, I-I need to get something from my bag, you-you don't have to c-come with me," he stuttered, a little unevenly. His mother frowned in concern but let him leave for the changing rooms where he had stashed his bag in the locker.

The room was thankfully empty as Yuuri quickly yanked the handbook for Novice Competitions out of his bag and flipped to the Technical Requirement page.

_... Only two jumps in a jump combination... No triple jumps permitted...*_

Yuuri frowned, a sinking feeling in his chest as his gaze trailed up the page.

_Singles Men Basic Novice A Technical Requirements._

Yuuri inhaled sharply as his stomach twisted and never managed to properly exhale. He could a hear a roaring, fluttering panic begin in his lungs as his breath quickened and heart pounded.

_Crap crap crap._

_Why did he mess everything up?_

Why was Yuuri just so terrible at everything. He couldn't get anything right, god, and now he was going to let down Minako sensei and his parents and Yuuko all because he _didn't read the rules properly_. He was going to mess up this entire second chance too, wasn't he? Oh god, what if he made things worse. Obviously it was because of him that Victor had to suffer so, so much...

(A flash of silver. Impact. Pain.)

And it was his fault, Yuuri thought as the world around him darkened. Victor deserved better than him. All he was going to do is cause trouble for everyone. If he hadn't drawn Victor so close to him, the other would've been able to continue skating. Victor wouldn't have loved him and therefore wouldn't have to mourn him when...

Oh Kami, he died didn't he?

(Shouting. A gasp. Blood.)

He died right in front of everyone. In front of Victor. What had he done? He should've known better than to continue skating competitively at the age he had been. His lungs hurt. Everything hurt. He couldn't mess up. He couldn't mess anything up. He had to make things better this time. _He had to_. But how, when he kept fucking up again and again? Everything was spinning like the time he practiced a spin with a light concussion.

"Hey," the voice sounded like it was coming through a tunnel, but it was solid, so Yuuri scrambled to grasp for it admist his spiraling thoughts. "In and out, take deep breaths. In... and out."

In. Yuuri sucked in a breath that made him cough with the force he had used. Out. Out. He managed to choke out some air as he listened to the person talk. "Deep breathes. You're Katsuki... Yuuri," Inhale, it was smoother this time, "You're ten years old." Ten? Out. "It's the year 2003. The date is August 10th. It is currently 3:34 PM." Inhale. "You're in the Ice Castle's locker room, sitting on the bench." He could see that now. Everything was blurry but he was indeed sitting there. "Your family is here with you. Are you with me?"

Yuuri took deep breaths as he looked up into the mildly annoyed, mostly concerned face of who he vaguely recognized as one of Yuuko's competitors. His mother, father, and Minako-sensei were all around him with worried faces. Yuuri nodded sharply, realizing that the unknown girl had asked a question.

"Good," was all she said before she turned away from him. He could hear the girl and his parents talking as he hid his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he had panicked like that. He also couldn't believe he had misread the rules.

 _Crap_! The rules. What were the technical requirements for Advanced Novices anyways? He scrambled for the handbook he had apparently dropped and looked over the rules in a hurry, trying to remember as much as possible. He could still feel that twist of panic, but it was much less overwhelming than it had been moments before. The unknown girl's voice faded from the conversation.

 _Maximum 7 jumps... Single and double jumps may not be used more than twice... At least one step sequence fully utilizing the ice surface... Only two jumps in a jump combination... One spin combination and one flying spin..._ *

"Yuuri." Yuuri looked up at Minako's concerned face. "If... if you want to withdraw, you can. You don't have to perform, y-"

"No!"

Minako looked taken aback as Yuuri practically jumped to his feet in his denial, they would've all said more, but the girl from before had come back. "It's your turn soon, Katsuki-kun. You should get ready if you don't want to be disqualified."

Yuuri quickly got his skates, thankful for the reminder, and went to the rink under the concerned gaze of his parent's and teacher.

He was still trembling slightly as he got onto the ice. "The next participant is Katsuki Yuuri, age 10..." He had to be the best, do the best he could. He was skating for his Victor and his Yurio, in memory of the future that never happen. He was skating for everyone here who had confidence in him and supported him. He was skating for his love of the ice. He refused to muck up his debut into the Figure Skating world. He was the last relic of a lost future and everyone and everything of that future was in him. He had to do it justice. He just _had to_.

Yuuri was nervous, very nervous, but he was more determined than he was nervous. He barely knew the requirements and he was all too aware of the low technical difficulty his program had. But as the music started, he let himself sink into the routine.

The music immediately brought him a sense of nostalgia, not because it was something he had skated to in the not-future, but because it was slow and with the undercurrent of joy. _What was first?_ He had to up the difficulty otherwise he might as well be competing with the Basic Novices. _A Triple Axel?_

He jumped, allowing himself to spin thrice before landing perfectly to thunderous applause. _Okay. I've got this_.

Next was the Double Toe Loop-Double Loop combination jump. It wouldn't be enough in the Advanced Novice division though. It took very little effort for Yuuri to turn it into a Triple Toe Loop-Double Loop. He wobbled a bit as he landed though, but straightened himself quickly enough.

His step sequences were as good as ever, and he felt his confidence returning at the sight of his teacher and parents' proud and joyful faces. He barely needed to think as he continued the routine, imagining Victor sitting at the stands and watching him. _This... This is for you._

A flying sit spin, Double Flip, a camel spin... His blades clanked sharply against the ice as he entered into the second half of his Freeskate. Shit, he had placed the harder jumps in the second half of his freeskate by habit. Victor... Victor always choreographed it like that to make use of his stamina.

His Double Lutz he managed perfectly. Then a combination spin... five, six, seven, eight rotations. Victor would've scolded him for doing the bare minimum number of rotations. Double Axel... One, two... three rotations. Yuuri bit his lip as his Double Axel turned into a triple without meaning to do so. He wasn't focused enough. He was letting his memories take over his skating... But was that really a bad thing...? Double Axel-Toe Loop-Double... Triple Toe Loop. Victor watched him practice all the time... He was doing well, more than well. Even with how exhausted he already felt from overdoing the jumps. He was smiling as he glided into position for his last jump.

Triple Salchow. Victor coming to join him in practicing... Yuuri jumped, his eyes closing. His throat closed up, almost involuntarily, in a sense of distant terror.

_Beeeeeeeep-_

_"Victor! Victor! VICTOR!"_

Frowning, Yuuri quickly counted his rotations to keep his mind focused. One rotation... two... three...

_Ouch!_

The blade of his skates hit the ice harshly and pain lanced up his leg, but he landed the jump without stepping out and easily came into his ending position.

Yuuri was breathing heavily as the audience roared, making up for their lack of numbers with sheer volume and chaos. His eyes were wide as his arms shook in their spread out pose and it wasn't long before he collapsed onto his knees on the ice, panting.

Four. Four rotations. A Quadruple Salchow.

" _You've simply pushed your body too far..._ " _Yurio..._

Yuuri wasn't completely aware of how he managed to get off the ice, but his parents and Minako sensei were hugging him and congratulating him. Mari would probably make a big fuss about how she couldn't have come and watched later. Yuuri had scored first at 101.8, almost 30 points above the second place skater. His leg ached, but he knew it wasn't from the harsh landing. It was a phantom pain, one that Yurio had constantly complained about before the fall from the Quad Salchow that had ended his competitive skating career.

He drew in a sharp breath as he smiled weakly, accepting the praises and the medal for his win. An idea formed in his head, gaining momentum as his smile relaxed and he even let a cameraman take a photo of him and is family with his medal.

Yuuri came out of the competition with a plan. One that didn't involve Quads or getting too close to Victor Nikiforov.

* * *

 

 **Ten Year Old Katsuki Yuuri Lands Quad Salchow**!

August 22nd 2003

In a stunning performance at the interclub Novice competitions at Hasetsu Ice Castle, Katsuki Yuuri (10) landed a perfect Quadruple Salchow at the end of his freeskate, winning him his first gold medal...

**Katsuki Yuuri Wins International Cup of Nice Without Quad**

November 24th 2003

As of yet, Katsuki Yuuri (10) is still the youngest to land a ratified Quad in a competition, however when asked, he admantly insisted that "it was a mistake, one that [he] wouldn't be repeating until [he's] old enough." Katsuki has, since then, gone onto win many more medals without the use of his Quad Salchow, including the novice level Cup of Nice in France, in his first international competition with a score of 145.2...

**Katsuki Yuuri Beats Personal Best at Triglav Trophy**

May 11th 2004

Rising star Katsuki Yuuri (11) beats his Freeskate personal best of 101.8 with a score of 105.5 at the Triglav trophy and wins gold again with a another personal best of 158.3, beating the silver medalist, Ivan Morozov (13) by 34 points. Again, Katsuki did not use his Quad Salchow that he proved to be able to do last August...

In Russia, Yakov Feltsman frowned, just slightly, as he watched his student practice in the rink, landing his signature Quad Flip without fail. Victor didn't even know that he may just have serious competition soon.

* * *

The day after the competition where Yuuri had performed his Quad Salchow, Yuuri was assulted as soon as he arrived at school. Their community was a small one, so every insignificant thing would be known by everyone within hours. He was dazed as his classmates congratulated him on his win and gushed over his medal, which promised (yes, definitely, pinky swear-style promise) that he would bring the medal (it wasn't actually gold, it was made of glass or something else transparent) to show everyone. Yuuko hugged him with a bright grin and even Takeshi gave him a "pretty good" for his efforts.

Yuuri was only slightly exasperated to see that digital journalism was still popular and therefore his win (and Quad, more his Quad than his win actually) was known to the figure skating community at large.

He really shouldn't have been surprised that Minako pushed for him to enter more Novice level competitions on a national and international level, but what he was surprised at is that the JSF were also pushing him to do so.

Yuuri came home a week later to find a representative in his house, talking to his parents about sponsoring him to go to the International Cup of Nice.

Yurio was only 2 or so now, but the older Yurio would only respond to what he felt was a challenge. With that in mind, Yuuri agreed, knowing from his (embarassing) fanboy past-future that Victor would not appear at that competition.

The thought of Victor made him melancholy, but he knew that if he saw Victor before he was ready, he would only mess up. Big time.

When he won the International Cup of Nice in France and then the Triglav Trophy the following year, he knew that the only way he'd be able to truly allieviate his attachments to his not-future was by doing _his_ Victor and Yurio and all his friends from the not-future justice. So with them in mind, Yuuri skated with everything he had and sent a silent thanks to them as he held his gold medals.

But nothing had really started yet. Nothing would really start until he was old enough to compete in the Junior Grand Prix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Paraphrased from the official guidelines for Novice Level ISU competitions.  
> Japanese competitions on the Novice level only has FS I think  
> International Cup of Nice is held in France and has both SP and FS  
> IDK about the Triglav Trophy  
> Also, the scores are from looking at scores of the 2003 ICN and National Novice competitions
> 
> I honestly don't really like this chapter despite all the research I've done for it. It seems... Choppy and hasty.


	3. A New Coach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler Chapter! Yuuri gets a new coach thanks to the JSF and Victor finally looks at the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: GUYS GUYS GUYS I ADDED SOMETHING TO THIS CHAPTER!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS MISSING BEFORE DDD: I also got Victor's debut date wrong.
> 
> I have done nothing productive ALLLLLLL week :D I cry for my lack of finished homework TT ^ TT I also need to finish planning our grad trip lmao
> 
> I am now armed with so much theoretical knowledge on ice skating and no practical or visual understanding of it at all, except for what Yuri On Ice and Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games have shown me (which is not much at all).
> 
> Enjoy, all you distracting readers I sacrifice homework on trying to please XD
> 
> Dn't mind the OCs, they aren't incredibly important. They'll be there until Yuuri has his Senior debut though.

In the not-future, Yuuri never had an official coach before Celestino, and had only participated in a few Basic Novice and Junior events, none of them International. Minako had usually acted as a stand in, or one of the instructors at Ice Castle had done so. The Ice Castle wasn't very well known, so not many coaches and clubs scouted for promising up-and-coming figure skaters from there. This was why he was completely blindsided when the JSF practically threw a coach at him after his win at the Triglav Trophy.

And as he stood in his own doorway, blinking in incomprehension at the JSF representatives, his awkward and young coach-to-be hesitantly told him that Yuuri had been scouted and wanted by a lot of coaches and clubs, but he had eventually been picked and that he hoped that Yuuri would accept him and possibly come with him to his own rink not far from Hasetsu, but if he didn't want to it was fine, too! It was up to him, Yuuri was assurred with some frantic hand gestures.

The man was so awkward that Yuuri had a hard time refusing him or even making a decision at all. The JSF then proceeded to assure him that he was already being sponsored (what? By whom?) and that his coaching fees had been paid (What? When?) and this coach was probably the best and most suited coach for him, as carefully selected by the JSF themselves. Yuuri was surprised at how much effort and money the JSF were spending on him. Was he really that special?

Yuuri really didn't think he needed a coach. Maybe someone to manage costumes and sponsors, but otherwise it was a bit excessive. Then again, his coaching fees had already been payed (again, when? What?) and Yuuri was loathe to waste that money, especially when he knew in his not-future that his parents had done a lot to help him with coaching fees and the such. He didn't want to burden them this time round. Eventually, it was Mari and Yuuko who had helped him make his decision. Both of whom encouraged him to accept.

While having a coach would make certain aspects of competing much easier, as Yuuko had said, Yuuri would have less time to spend with his family if he accepted since he would have to go to the rink in the next city over for his practices. However, Mari managed to talk with the possible coach and found out that not only was this coach willing to keep him mostly out of public view, but also was willing to simply manage Yuuri's sponsors, health, competitions and costumes, not requiring him to come to the rink to practice so long as Yuuri kept him updated. It was actually quite a good deal, all things considered, and Minako and the instructors at Ice Castle would stay to oversee his actual training.

It gave Yuuri a surprising amount of freedom and it took him barely a week to decide to accept the offer. All things considered, this could be a great help.

Not a day later, Yuuri now had a new coach in Ihara Takumi, age 24 (that was _really_ young), the small-time coach of a group of up and coming Novice and Junior competitors in the Saga Prefecture.

* * *

"A psychiatric evaluation?" Yuuri blinked up at his coach, who smiled down sheepishly at him. It was the off-season, so they both had free time and his new coach had stayed in Hasetsu for the time being. The man was currently seated at Yu-Topia Akatsuki, sipping some tea with Yuuri, Mari and Minako. He seemed a little intimidated.

"Ah, yes... It's standard procedure for our club to make sure athletes aren't feeling overwhelmed or anxious because of the pressure. Honestly, not a lot of coaches or clubs do this*, since mental health isn't very big in Japan... or, well, anywhere really..." His coach explained softly, with a quiet chuckle. The man really did remind Yuuri of himself at times, with his shy demeanor and slightly awkward behavior. It was a little hard to believe he was a coach, considering what Yuuri had seen of coaches in the past. "Anyways, we do it because my sister is a psychology fanatic, so as to help our athletes cope with nerves and public attention. Especially since they're all quite young and they may have to deal with negative commentary from the public in the future. We also keep our athletes out of public eye as much as possible until we're sure they're ready for it... I hope that's okay with you? I mean, it's not really a formal thing and if you really don't want to, you don't have to do it..." Ihara trailed off, sounding hesitant.

He glanced at Minako and Mari before glancing at Yuuri again with that same slightly awkward smile.

What he was saying actually sounded... really reasonable. Celestino had tried to help Yuuri deal with his anxiety in the past, but Celestino wasn't really a professional and Yuuri was usually quite good at hiding his nerves (and panic attacks). Plus, he hadn't wanted to burden his family with getting a therapist or anything of the sort and the idea of someone poking around his head so to speak. After Victor had come, his presence had helped a lot with Yuuri's anxiety, and Victor had read a lot about helping Yuuri deal with it. Still, Yuuri had never really thought of actually getting professional help with his nerves and lack of self-esteem. It might also partially be because of the stigma on mental health and the like that pervaded Asia in general.

The whole dealing with attention and pressure thing sounded like something that might help Yuuri.

Mari and Minako looked at each other before looking at Yuuri, deciding to let him make the decision. They had both gotten used to Yuuri being wise beyond his years and often treated him like an adult rather than the child he (physically) was.

"Well... I guess that's fine," Yuuri eventually decided with a slow nod. It may or may not help him, but he was willing to try it out.

"Oh, that's great!" Ihara beamed at him "Um, my sister is actually here in Hasetsu right now. She insisted on coming with me. Also, er, she looks quite young and is really young, but I promise she knows what she's doing. Her teacher, Yukimura Mikado is here with her as well. I can call them over right now if you like. Most people feel more comfortable when they're somewhere familiar, so yeah..."

Minako spoke up this time. "I think that would be a good idea. I don't know much about this whole mind thingy, but I definitely know I would've appreciated getting some tips on how to deal with nerves back when I was performing. What about it, Yuuri?"

Yuuri nodded again, a little more firmly this time. "Yes, that'll work."

Yuuri and his coach chatted as they waited for Ihara Rei, Takumi's sister, to arrive. Yuuri's new coach proved to be a great conversationalist who knew a lot behind the theory of ice skating. Yuuri also found out that the man had an accident that caused his early retirement from figure skating, which was why he was a coach at such a young age. At that news, Yuuri couldn't help but think of his Victor and Yurio, and felt a mix of determination and guilt lodge itself in his throat.

Before long, two new people were making their presence known at Yu-topia.

"Ah!" Yuuri burst out before he could stop himself, "You're the girl from last year!"

Ihara Rei raised an eyebrow at his response and Yuuri felt himself blush. The girl was the same girl that had helped him calm down from his panic attack at his first competition. He recognized her by her rather stoic expression and curly hair. "Yeah, that was me. Congratulations on the win, by the way, it was very impressive." Her tone was so monotonous that Yuuri found it hard to believe she was a fanatic of anything. She was a direct contrast to her brother, who chuckled a little nervously at his sister's tone.

The much older man standing at her side, her teacher probably, slapped a hand over his face. "Would it kill you to add intonation into your voice?"

He was ignored.

Rei blinked at Yuuri for a moment, unnerving him, before smiling in what seemed to be genuine warmth. "Don't be nervous," she told him soothingly, "I'm here to help." Yuuri relaxed a little at her tone... Well, until she started speaking again. "You have self-esteem problems though, I think and you display an unhealthy amount of anxiety. You probably pay too much attention to what other people think and constantly need validation from them, am I right? You're also pretty careless, considering that quad you performed at the end of your routine. It was a beautiful routine, by the way, but wobbly and it violated one of the requirements for advanced novices I believe..."

Yuuri had completely tuned her out by then and both Yukimura and Takumi were frantically trying to shut her up. She really reminded him of Victor in that moment.

* * *

 

**Katsuki Wins Gold in Cup of Nice Again... Once Again Without Quads!**

November 15th 2004

Katsuki Yuuri (11) has won gold again at the International Cup of Nice with a new personal best of 161.2! Again, the eleven year old prodigy does this without a single quad. Despite Katsuki's reasoning and insistence of not performing the quad until he's old enough, skeptics are now wondering if the Quad Salchow that Katsuki performed was a fluke. Katsuki Yuuri has refused to comment on his performance...

**Katsuki Yuuri's Quad Salchow - Not a Fluke!!**

December 27th 2004

In a stunning performance at the Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships, Katsuki Yuuri (12) ends his performance with his Quad Salchow, proving to everyone that his quad last year was indeed not a fluke. His coach, Ihara Takumi, has told us that Yuuri was able to perform this quad with very little practice throughout the year and it is unlikely that Katsuki will perform another quad before his senior debut. He also wishes to commend Katsuki on his wise decision, for Ihara fears the strain it may put on young Katsuki's body...

**Prodigy Katsuki Yuuri - A Challenge For the Living Legend, Victor Nikiforov?**

January 2nd 2005

In the previous month's Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships, Katsuki Yuuri (12) won gold once again in the Novice division. As Katsuki's Junior debut approaches, people have started comparing him to Russia's Living Legend, Victor Nikiforov (16), who won gold the Junior Grand Prix Finals that very same month. However, with Victor's Senior Debut set in 2006, it seems as if we won't be seeing a clash between these two amazing skaters until Katsuki's own Senior debut, which may not happen for another six years...

"Yakov?"

Yakov turned to look at his surprisingly quiet and contemplative student. That look did NOT bode well. "What is it, Victor?" he asked with a sigh.

"Can we push my Senior debut date back a year or two?"

The only reason Yakov didn't have a heart attack right then and there was because he had been expecting something similar to come from his student for a while now. He had a hunch it was because of Katsuki Yuuri. And wasn't it just typical of Vitya to have noticed the Novice only once his own name was mentioned? Yakov heaved a sigh and agreed with Victor.

One day, his student was _really_ going to give him a heart attack...

* * *

"Sorry, Rei-chan..." Yuuri pouted and glanced up at his coach's sister who stared sternly down at him.

"Seriously, Yuuri, a Quad? Just because there were people who were disbelieving of your ability to perform it?" she asked, her tone mostly even, but slightly annoyed. "You're health is more important than what other people think, okay?"

"Yes..." Yuuri agreed meekly, "I know but... I just sort of..." He trailed off, glancing down. He had never felt more like the child he physically was in this life until now.

Rei sighed a little and sat down, cross-legged, in front of him. "Listen Yuuri, don't be afraid to confide in me, okay? You're great on the ice and you don't have to prove yourself to anyone. Tell me, what happened?"

Yuuri took a shaky breath and wrung his fingers in anxiety. "I-I don't know, I just felt like... Like I was letting everyone down. I felt like people were judging me," he admitted, "I was... I was a little angry as well, I just wanted to prove them wrong." He was pretty sure articles pointing out his flaws, criticisms and public doubt hadn't affected him nearly as much in the near future, but back then it had been because Victor was with him. He was going against public opinion, garnering criticism because he had taken Victor from the ice. It had been thrilling and made him confident. Yet somehow this was different and he was much quicker to give into negative emotions and doubt and anger.

"Who do you skate for, Yuuri?" The question made Yuuri blink in surprise and he floundered a bit as he tried to answer. "Who, or what do you skate for? Why do you skate? Do you skate for strangers who watch you through a screen?"

Yuuri shook his head immediately. "I-" _I skate for everyone in my not-future... I skate for Victor and for Yurio because they can't. I skate because I love it, I love the ice and I feel free on it._ "I skate... because I... enjoy it? Because I can make the people I care for proud... I skate because I love to skate," he hesitantly decided.

"Exactly," Rei nodded to herself and smiled, "Do you want to keep skating?"

"Of course!"

"Listen, Yuuri, if you ever find yourself in doubt or in the spotlight of one of those articles again, if anyone tries to tear you down for your decisions or who you are, just remember that _those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter_. It's a little out of context here, but you're a great skater and you don't have to prove it to anyone. Just continue, not to please anyone, but to enjoy it," Rei was intently serious as she said this. "You're a very smart and gifted child, Yuuri. If you skate, you should do it on your terms. All you need is to believe that we, your family and friends, do, in fact, care about you because you're you and not because of whatever quad you can do, or how high you score."

_Yeah, but if it weren't for my not-future..._

Yuuri furiously shook himself out of that doubt. Victor had also told him time and again that Yuuri was talented and Yuuri had let himself believe it. It may have been his not-future that brought out his talent and helped him meet the Ihara siblings, but friendship wasn't, in fact, built on points and medals and talent. They cared about him, like his Victor and Yurio and Phichit and family cared about him.

"All you need is confidence and, honestly, a bit of selfishness. You're just like my idiot brother, he was always anxious, self-conscious and doubtful as well.  Just try to let go and enjoy yourself, yeah?" Rei raised an eyebrow and Yuuri bit his lip before nodding in agreement. Rei ruffled his hair as she stood and left, leaving Yuuri to think.

Rei didn't know about his not-future, but sometimes it seemed like she did. Maybe... Maybe some day he would be able to achieve what Rei suggested, but this was not the day. He couldn't shake off the guilt or memories. Deep down, he knew that to truly live, he would have to let go. Of Victor, of Yurio, of his entire not-future.

 _This wasn't the day... but someday_ , Yuuri promised himself, _someday he would_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I'm not sure about mental health and stigmas surrounding it at this time, but I know that even today a lot of Confusianist thought and Asian culture prevent mental health from being properly paid attention to. Despite places in China like Nanjing and Shanghai having mental health counsellors in every school, it's still seen as shameful to ask for help from them. Our mental health counsellor apparently doesn't even help you except to tell you to run on the treadmill until you feel okay...? But I've personally never gone to check it out since I'm the most stress-free in the class lol.
> 
> Also, forgive any and all inaccuracies in this chapter. I may be a psych student, but I'm not a therapist or studying abnormal psychology. I don't know how much mental health is valued in sports, but I know it's not much at that time.
> 
> Okay, it's time to do homework, lol! This chapter was super rushed and pretty short b/c hooooomeeeewoooorrrkkk  
> Except slower updates in the future!


	4. Twice the Vicchan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Vicchan are reunited... Twice! In two different forms! And over in Russia, Yakov realizes that he just can't seem to find a normal student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS GUYS READ THIS  
> I edited something in and something into chapter 3! I cannot believe I forgot to add the last section to that chapter! If you haven't seen it, go read! It's just Rei giving Yuuri some advice, not too important, so I guess its okay if you don't read it...
> 
> This chapter starts in the off season in 2006. I'm assuming that Victor has his Senior Debut at age 17, and his original senior debut should be in 2006, during which he turns 18 after the GPF in December. Yuuri's Junior debut is also in 2006, where he'll turn 14 in November before the JGPF. 2006 JPGF has 8 participants instead of the 6 that qualify now.
> 
> Standard Poodles can live up to about 15 years or so. And one of the reasons Victor took a break from competitive skating was that Makkachin was getting old. I would say that Makkachin's birthday would be about 2005, 2004? Maybe? So Yuuri got Vicchan in 2005 or 2006, possibly.
> 
> Also, guess what? I spent the 30 minutes before my lecture in class making myself nervous just to write this goddamn chapter, with the description of what it feels like to be nervous. This chapter is super crackish and I had to read a few interviews with sports celebrities to get the magazine part (I usually have no interest in celebrities)

Hasetsu was quiet all year round and Yuuri relished in the peace he had during his off-season. It gave him plenty of time to think and glide across the ice at his own, unhurried pace. This year was a little different though, as he had to prepare for his Junior Debut in August at the JPG Courchevel Cup. This was the reason why both his coach and his health counsellor were in the rink with him, along with the instructors at ice castle, as he mused over his options for his Debut, his mind started to drift.

 _This year Victor is due to make his Senior Debut..._ "Ow!"

Yuuri yelped as he hit the ground, having accidentally glided right into someone else's back while on the rink. The person turned out to be Rei, who turned to view him with partly annoyed, partly worried eyes. "Yuuri... Are you okay?" his health counsellor and friend asked, "You seem extremely distracted. You should focus or you'll hurt yourself. Your Junior Debut is coming up soon."

"I-I'm fine," Yuuri stuttered, his cheeks hot in embarassment. He quickly scrambled up from his sprawled position on the ice.

"I haven't heard you stutter like that in two years..." Rei's eyes narrowed speculatively before widening. A smirk spread across her face. "Ah, I see, this is about your idol isn't it?"

"I-i-i-i-idol!?" Yuuri spluttered with a red face. "What idol?" Seriously, what idol?! He hadn't bought any posters of Victor or magazines of Victor, not this time round! God, even thinking about his past fanboy behavior was embarassing. He was pretty damn sure he didn't act like a Victor fanboy this time round.

"Victor Nikiforov, right? That's your idol?" Rei asked, being the most cheerful Yuuri had seen from her yet.

Yuuri was practically struck dumb. "H-how did you-"

"Ah, so I was right? Lucky guess!" Rei grinned widely as Yuuri whimpered and put his head in his hands. "And of course I didn't know, I made an educated guess. Though I didn't think I'd be on point..." She trailed off, contemplative. "But it does make sense. Nikiforov has his Senior Debut set for this year, doesn't he? And you must've been inspired by someone to skate like that. Plus, some of your movements honestly remind me of him... You might not be an overt fanboy, but I can see right through you, Katsuki Yuuri."

Groaning, Yuuri sunk back down to the ice.

"Don't tease him, Rei," Takumi scolded lightly. "But, Yuuri, do you know what you're going to be doing for your Junior Debut? Better yet, what's your theme going to be?"

Yuuri smiled a little. He had a theme in a mind already, having been planning this moment for a while now. "If I'm going to debut, I'm going to do it with a bang."

* * *

It started as it always did. It was a building pressure in the center of his chest and right under his diaphram. Not painful, but certainly not comfortable and incredibly sudden, startling. It crawled into his lungs and up his throat at a slower rate, but the initial impact had been made, and his stomach twisted, like it was trying to rebel.

This... It was a marker, a symbol, an omen, but it wasn't what made him tremble or freeze. It was the fear of something that would soon happen, of the time lag before an event of significance and not the event itself.

Nonetheless it came, sometimes more at will than of its own accord. It came and it stayed, like some sort of rampaging monster that dwelled within his core. These days, it was much easier to calm that beast though.

Yuuri breathed deeply as he stretched out, widening his stance and body language into something so confident, it bordered on ridiculous.

 _Two minutes_ , he thought. _Arms out, legs apart, back straight, be ridiculous._

A flush spread across his face as he glanced into the mirror in the restroom. This was strange, but it worked. _Faking it till you're making it*_ , Rei called it. More or less just to assume a confident position until you _felt_ confident. This had become a tradition of his ever since Rei had taught it to him. He did this before every public appearance and scheduled interview or press conference. Granted, that didn't happen much considering Takumi's policies on publicity, but it did still happen since Yuuri was rather popular for a Junior-To-Be. Usually, Novices didn't get much media coverage.

"What are you doing?"

Yuuri's head turned so fast, he nearly gave himself whiplash. His limbs retreated and he curled up slightly in shock, his posture losing every ounce of confidence it had just moments ago.

And there in all his glory, stood Victor Nkiforov.

His hair was so much longer and his face so much younger than what Yuuri's memories suggested it should be, but that look of carefree curiosity had not changed.

Much to Yuuri's mortification, he felt a pressure behind his eyes and a constricting of his throat. There was so much Yuuri wanted to say, but not to this Victor, to _his_ Victor. The words wouldn't come out, and he wasn't sure if he wanted them to come out. What if this Victor was actually _his_ Victor? What if he _wasn't_? His chest ached, it felt tight and it wasn't until Victor spoke that Yuuri realized he was panicking again.

"Are you alright?" He sounded concerned, oh so concerned. He sounded so concerned that it just heightened Yuuri's panic. He was breathing quicker now. "What's wrong?" Victor was worried, his voice wavered just slightly, softed by just a bit. And Yuuri was nearly hyperventilating. That monster in his chest had come back ten times stronger, but this time accompanied by trembling, by a sense of suffocation...

He couldn't take it.

Yuuri bolted, shoving past Victor and simply ran, without caring where he was going.

* * *

 

This was madness.

Victor had always been a bit - how should he put it - eccentric, to say the least, but he had never been so... so... absolutely annoying. Yakov watched warily as his student practically skipped into the practice rink they were using in Courchevel. Usually, Yakov would not have indulged one of Victor's strange and abrupt decisions to travel halfway across the world, but since the Junior Grand Prix Courchevel Cup was being held only mere days later, Yakov allowed it. And, okay, it was partly because Victor had been moping around back in St. Petersburg after his completely random excursion to Japan, absolutely devastated by something (Yakov still didn't know what that something was) that had happened a week or so prior.

And now... Well, now Victor was dragging every passing person into one-sided, extremely enthuasiastic conversations about something he had read in the magazine he had.

Within the hour, Victor had managed to make Georgi cry twice, Mila practically tried to throw him off the ice, and Yakov's own ears bleed with with yells of "I'm extremely happy right now!" (Yes, everyone knows you're happy, Victor). God knows the press would have a field day if they caught wind of his students behavior, but luckily it was still early and they were the only ones in the rink.

Thank god the rather insane behavior only lasted for the hour. But the oddness persisted. Victor completely ruined his own routine by being distracted by the magazine and didn't even attempt a quad (which Yakov was partially thankful of, but it was still abnormal behavior for the silver-haired teen). Was it the hormones?

(No, future Yakov would one day find out, it wasn't the hormones, it was just Victor's Victor-ness)

Eventually, Yakov decided intervention was necessary, even at the expense of his own sanity.

When Victor was staring at the magazine with awe during break time, Yakov struck. "Victor, can you come here for a moment?" The beaming smile Victor gave him was slightly dazing and Yakov only vaguely noticed Victor bounce up to him, hair swishing in it's ponytail.

"Yes, Yakov?" Victor's happiness was very much audible in his voice.

Yakov quickly shook his head and mustered as stern an expression as he could. He opened his mouth, but hesitated. Would it sound weird or bad if he asked why on earth Victor had been so obnoxiously happy today? Should he ask about the disappearance of the aura of gloom Victor had mere days ago? That moment of hesitation cost him.

Dearly.

Taking the pause to mean that Yakov wanted him to talk first, Victor immediately launched into the subject of his obsession as of late...

"Oh, Yakov! You know, that Japanese skater I really wanted to go up against!? Guess what! I found a snippet of him in this magazine! I didn't even know he had done interviews before! And guess what, Yakov! He also really likes poodles! Isn't that great? We have so much in common!"

And Yakov could only stare as the entire hour passed by with Victor talking nonstop. By the end of it, he was only half conscious of his surroundings and Victor happily went off to practice again, with a "Oh wow, we've been talking for a while!"

Why did he start a conversation with Victor, again?

The rest of practice passed in a blur as Yakov was still slightly dazed by the conversation. Georgi had apparently noticed this, and the nice and wonderful student he was, he stayed to make sure Yakov was alright, handing the coach a bottle of water. Mila just stormed out, still incredibly irritated. Honestly, Yakov was kind of afraid of her at the moment, because this was the first time the Novice-to-be had shown anything other than good humor. Usually, _she_ did the teasing and was happy to be chased around after irritating someone or another.

"So," Yakov started, deciding that Georgi was the one who was most likely to give him answers about Victor's behavior without driving him insane. "Why has Victor been so... happy after that period of absolute gloom he was in?"

Georgi hesitated, probably thinking about how to put this in the least shocking way he could. Yakov took a sip of water...

"He's in love."

And promptly spat it back out.

"What."

"Well," Georgi started hesitantly as Yakov looked at him in incomprehension. "It might not be love quite yet, but I think he's found someone compatible. He's been gushing over that Japanese Novice, Yuuri Katsuki for a while now." Georgi's voice became more firm towards the end, and he nodded as if confirming something with himself.

Yakov just gaped for a moment. "B-but they haven't even met!"

"Actually, they did, just a few days ago. That's why Victor was so gloomy. Apparently, Katsuki ran off when Victor tried to talk to him and Victor was devastated."

"K-Katsuki is only 13!"

Georgi suddenly became dead serious as he put a hand over his own heart and closed his eyes. "Love knows no boundaries! Age, it's just a number, what is that to _love_!?" He thumped his own chest and suddenly opened his eyes, face intense. "It must be love at first sight! I have to help him! Victor! I'll be your wingman!"

And then he ran off as well, leaving Yakov stunned.

Was it too late to quit?

* * *

 

**Rising Stars in Sports - Figure Skating**

By now, there should be no one in the figure skating world who doesn't know Yuuri Katsuki. After landing a ratified quad in competition at the age of 10, Katsuki has set a record that can't be broken unless the age restrictions for competitions change. However, Katsuki has also proven himself to be mature beyond his years as he had decided to not performing another quad until his body has finished growing, much to his coach's approval. This year, Katsuki is due to make his junior debut after his amazing performances in the novice section. But everyone must be wondering how he started out.

"When I first went figure skating, I was excited. So excited, I immediately tried out one of the techniques I had seen on TV and fell flat on my ass. My only saving grace was that I had very good balance, so I was able to quickly learn how to stablize myself on the ice," Katsuki says, sheepish. "It was actually my ballet teacher that reccommended ice skating to me. It's thanks to her that I decided to skate."

Even with all his achievements do date, Katsuki has told us that he hadn't always wanted to go into competitive figure skating. He had made a decision at the age of 9, only a year before he started participating in Novice competitions.

"Victor," Katsuki tells us, "I saw Victor Nikiforov's junior debut which made me decide to go into competitive figure skating. E-everyone told me I had a talent on the ice, but Ice skating is very expensive and I didn't want to put a burden on my parents. They encouraged me to do what I really loved, but it was only after I saw Victor perform that I decided I would really go for it. Everyone has someone they look up to, and I suppose Victor would be that person for me. My love of poodles also comes from him, haha. One day, I hope to surpass him."

Victor Nikiforov, age 17, is due to make his senior debut this year and has apparently been a source of motivation and inspiration for Katsuki. Katsuki expressed his disappointment that he and Victor would have wait for their battle on the ice. With Katsuki's Junior debut coming up though, Katsuki still has the need to focus on his own routines and performances, as he will be competing in a much higher difficulty circle of ice skating. He has been planning for this performance for a long time.

"My theme for my junior debut is..."

Rei was surprised that Yuuri had actually admitted his admiration for Victor in the interview, but even more surprised at how down Yuuri seemed after the interview. She had no idea what had happened to bring him into a state of gloom, but she was stuck with it, awkwardly enough, throughout the journey back to the Osen... and for the next few days afterwards. The Courchevel Cup was approaching rapidly, but with Yuuri's state of mind, he hadn't been performing at his best. And even with Yuuri's skills, he would need that best to qualify for the Finals. Yuuri hadn't really been responding to her questions and attempts at cheering him up either.

Hopefully, the surprise they had planned would cheer Yuuri up, but did Takumi really have to stick Rei of all people with a moping Yuuri?

She was desparate, and this would completely destroy her image, but if it could relieve her of the aura of doom that still surrounded Yuuri it would be worth it.

"Hey, Yuuri-kun," she called. The young teenager looked around at her and made a noncomittal noise of acknowledgement. Rei was thankful that Yuuri was good at English, or else she wouldn't be able to do this properly. "Do you know how I got out of Iraq?"

"... You went to Iraq?" Okay, confusion wasn't exactly what she had been aiming for, but whatever, she could deal with that. She didn't think he had even realized they had both switched into English.

"Iran."

There was a period of silence. "... What?"

Rei twitched voilently on the spot. "It's a pun. A _pun_ , Yuuri-kun."

"Oh."

"..."

"... _Oh_!"

Rei groaned. She couldn't believe she had done that. "Whatever, let's just get you back." With that, Rei grabbed Yuuri's arm and started off at a run. Yuuri stumbled for a moment before rightening himself.

"Why are we running?"

"You'll see."

The two of the got to the osen in record time and Rei ushered Yuuri in first, calling out a greeting. There was a bark and suddenly a ball of cream-brown fur barreled into Yuuri's legs. Surprised and caught off guard, Yuuri fell back with a thud, looking at the fur ball in incomprehension.

"Surprise!" Mari called out as she and her parents both came out of where they were partly hiding before the poodle ruined the surprise.

To Rei's surprise, she saw tears building in Yuuri's eyes as he sat up and hugged the poodle to his chest, trembling slightly.

"What's wrong, Yuuri?" Hiroko asked, worried.

"N-nothing." Yuuri breathed in deeply and looked up with a beaming smile. "I'm going to call him Vicchan, short for Victor."

Wow, he really liked Victor didn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what you think about this, but I totally forgot about Vicchan lmao. I inserted the doggie there once I remembered. I hope it's not too obvious. IT'S SO CRACKY AND EMOTIONAL AT THE SAME TIME. VICTOR IS CRACK INCARNATE. Okay, it's not that cracky, but still.
> 
> *Recently, Amy Cuddy did a study on how behavior influences physiology. If you assume a 'high-power pose' (a confident, spread out pose) for a period of time, our testosterone levels increase and your cortisol levels decrease allowing you to behave more confident and charismatic and feel less anxiety and stress.


	5. Junior Debut Pt. 1 - Short Program

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor appears at Yuuri's Junior Debut... As a competitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a while b/c of tests (that none of us actually care about but still have to sit and takes up a shitton of time. I did terribly...)
> 
> Edit: I got some ages wrong, so I corrected them and also added Takumi and Rei's ages.
> 
> Current Ages (for my benefit as much as yours) in August 23rd 2006 (Courchevel Cup in France):  
> Yuuri: 13  
> Victor: 17  
> Yurio: 6  
> Phitchit: 10  
> Georgi: 17  
> Otabek: 8  
> Mila: 8  
> Michele & Sara: 12  
> Christophe: 15  
> JJ: 9  
> Kenjirou: 7  
> Guang-Hong: 7  
> Leo: 9  
> Seung-gil: 10  
> Emil: 8  
> Rei: 18 (as of March 11th)  
> Takumi: 27 (as of October 1st 2005)

" _My theme for my Junior Debut is..._ "

Meeting Victor was not meant to happen. It wasn't meant to happen until a long, long time into this future, where Yuuri was ready and willing to meet with Victor, and prepared to make the impact he had to make on Victor's life. That impact was to renew Victor's love for skating and bring him out of the slump he had fallen into. But Yuuri hadn't even had the time to give himself closure and stop clinging to the not-future like some ill-gotten paradise.

"Yuuri-kun," Takumi told him, uncharacteristcally serious, "Victor Nikiforov is your competitor in the Courchevel Cup."

Yuuri felt his mouth dry and the air in his lungs vanish. Competing against... Victor?

But... But he wasn't ready, he wasn't ready! Victor was meant to be having his senior debut this year, not this! Oh god, what if his very existence was irrevocably changing things, so much that Yuuri wouldn't be able to anticipate or steer things in the right way? What if Yuuri failed and Victor lived a life without ice skating, sad and lonely as Victor had said, jokingly, would be so without Yuuri?  What if...!

"Yuuri, breathe!"

Yuuri sucked in a huge breath, startled by the sudden command, and only then realized that his lungs were deprived of air. He panted, coughing, as Mari rubbed his back soothingly. She had picked up a few things from Rei, since Rei had flown to England to get things sorted out at the university she would soon be attending. Rei had promised to be in Courchevel in time for his debut though.

"Yuuri-kun, what's wrong? Do you want to back out? It doesn't matter if you do. I mean, it's pretty irresponsible of Nikiforov-san to have suddenly decided to postpone his Senior Debut..." Takumi murmured, looking a little nervous and very much concerned.

"No... No, I just... I didn't expect it. I'll still compete," Yuuri informed his coach, frowning a little. Well... Victor did always like to surprise people. He really shouldn't have been so shocked.

 _Think positive_ , Yuuri thought to himself. _List out every single possible positive outcome, no matter how ridiculous_. It was something Rei had told him to do when he felt down or he was blindsided by some event or another. Maybe this will be a chance to preserve Victor's joy in skating. Maybe just by being here he had changed the future for the better. Maybe Victor had postponed his Senior Debut for Yuuri. It was unlikely, but the thought made him smile. Maybe this could be a chance to get some closure. By skating against this Victor, he could finally look upon his not-future with fondness instead of tears, with nostalgia instead of regret and guilt.

Maybe.

" _The future_."

* * *

The Courchevel Cup rink was rife with tension and nerves. Every junior knew who they would be going up against: the Living Legend, Victor Nikiforov. All the participants, some eager teens, barely out of childhood and others older and more worn, were straining for a glance at the current legendary Junior Champion. Victor had, after all, completely thrown everyone for a loop by rejecting the offer to move to the senior division, despite his Senior Debut being planned this year. Yuuri wasn't sure how to feel.

Rei placed her hand on his shoulder in support and Yuuri weakly smiled at her, feeling vaguely ill. He didn't know why, but Rei and Takumi had obviously noticed, judging by the concerned looks they were wearing. He had prepared the best he could for this, for meeting Victor.

Dusk was coming, the official practice time was starting soon and that half familiar head of silver hair was nowhere to be seen. Yuuri sighed a little. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if Victor skipped the practice...

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri yelped as he was tackled abuptly, a pair of arms hugging him tight around the shoulders. Short hair tickled his face and a wisp of silver danced in front of his eyes. Please don't tell him it was Victor...

He turned his head, looking into the cheerful blues of the eyes of his idol.

Of course it would be Victor...

"V-Victor... san," Yuuri murmured, a little uncomfortable how much taller the teen was than him. Victor had obviously undergone his growth spurt already, reaching an impressive height that Yuuri probably would never reach. Victor perked up, smiling his heart-shaped smile when Yuuri addressed him and Yuuri could almost imagine a wagging tail. But something was strange...

"Victor!" a voice near roared. Yakov. That was definitely Yakov. He sounded years younger, but that was definitely Yakov. Yuuri only needed to hear the pissed off and exasperated undertone to know it was Yakov. " _What on earth are you doing!?_ " the words were in Russian but Yuuri understood them, having lived in Russia for years after his and Victor's wedding.

Yuuri could practically see Victor wilt under his coach's ire and Yuuri just awkwardly waited for Victor to either let go of him or get dragged off him (as was what usually happened during practice when Victor got clingy). Victor let go of his own violation though, and submitted with a pout to Yakov's stern lecture on how to behave in public. Yuuri knew it would go completely over his head. Wait a minute.

Yuuri's eyes widened. That's what was weird. Victor had cut his hair! Holy crap! He only just realized that this was the year Victor had cut his hair, but it had originally been to comenmorate his Senior Debut. So why was it cut? Also, where on earth were Takumi and Rei while he got glomped by an overenthusiatic Russian?

He whipped his head around to the sight of Rei who was taking pictures with a digital camera, tongue out in concentration, and Takumi who looked like he had just facepalmed really hard and was now crying into his hands for some reason. _Of course_ , Yuuri thought, strangely unsurprised at the uncharacteristic behavior, _How could I forget that no one around here is normal or sane._

Rei then removed the camera and gave him a grin and a thumbs up. _You're doing well_ , she mouthed. It was only then that Yuuri realized he hadn't panicked or felt even the slightest bit of anxiety during the interaction. He had let himself get swept along with Victor's usual antics without a care. Heart feeling lighter, Yuuri turned back to chuckle at where Victor was obviously tuning out Yakov's lecture. Victor caught his gaze and beamed and Yuuri felt himself flush, just a bit, and looked away, still smiling.

This was... So much better than he thought it would be.

* * *

This was so much worse than he thought it would be.

He had felt the nerves coming on, the flutter of growing panic in the pit of his stomach, and had fled to the bathroom to compose himself, but it had not worked as usual.

Now, Yuuri was choking, suffocating on thin air. The pressure was getting to him, and it was far, far worse than his first Novice competition. He felt like there was something heavy pressing down on his shoulders and chains tied to his skates. He was going 8th out of the 14 competitors and he wasn't feeling good. Takumi was helping, his presence a familiar source of comfort, but it didn't change the fact that his nerves were getting to him and Rei wasn't here. God, he had placed too much into this performance and it was crushing him with the weight of his own hopes and the not-future. What if something went dreadfully wrong?

It was his turn next.

There was a quick commotion off to the side and suddenly a pair of unfamiliar hands grabbed his shoulders. Yuuri's head snapped up, the panic receeding and being replaced with shock.

"Yuuri!" Victor's face was drawn tight with worry and concern, mirroring Takumi's expression from where the man stood on Yuuri's right. "Hey, Rei told me you loved skating but you get nervous." Rei, always so straightforwards... "Listen, I'm really looking forwards to see you enjoying yourself out there on the ice! Yuuri's beautiful when he enjoys himself." Victor's English was tinged with a heavy Russian accent and it made Yuuri blush furiously. "Just enjoy yourself and you'll be beautiful!"

Victor's minature pep talk did its trick and Yuuri felt himself calming. He wanted to do his best, but there wasn't the edge of desparation to his thoughts anymore. He remembered the light feeling he had experienced with Victor before and thought _yes, I can do this. This world... I love it. I love skating here, that doesn't change._

There was a long pause, a long silence where Yuuri tuned out everything except Victor's intense expression. Yuuri saw _his_ Victor in this Victor, overlapping and encouraging, a tired, but genuine smile on his face. But Victor wasn't smiling, he was staring at Yuuri with earnesty and determination and the pang of guilt and nostalgia faded into fondness. His shock faded into nothing but a slight fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

Yuuri bit his lip a little and smiled softly. "Yeah, you're right, Victor," he murmured in quiet Russian, "I just have to enjoy myself."

The last sight before he left the bathroom for the rink was a gobsmacked expression on Victor's face and Yuuri giggled to himself, almost hysterically. Victor sure was easy to shock. Takumi guided him back with a smile and Rei joined them before Yuuri stepped onto the rink. Yuuri smiled to himself, shedding his jacket and skating into position. Obviously, he wasn't using the same costume he used in his not-future, as Victor still has that costume, only just used it at last year's grand prix. Yuuri's costume was white and baby blue with a silver trim, the top half in a style almost like not-future Phichit's 2016 short program costume. There were feathers on the shoulders that gave the impression of angel wings. His trousers were tight and shimmering. Yuuri had it made modestly, despite the song he was matching it with.

Yuuri turned his head to the side, cocked his hip and let his arms stay lax. The music started and Yuuri raised his hands, making a shimmering motion down his body.

"Next we have Yuuri Katsuki from Japan! He's gained quite a name for himself in the Novice division, being the youngest to ratify a quad in competition, and this is his first time participating in the Junior division. His theme for this season is apparently The Future and he's skating to, oh my, On Love: Eros. Not too sure what exactly that has to do with the future."

"Maybe it's about, you know, maturity? If you know what I mean, eh?"

Yes, Yuuri was pulling a Chris. A very mild Chris compared to the man himself, but a Chris nonetheless, by skating to something needlessly and inappropriately sexual... for someone of his age at least. He threw a smirk at the stands, catching a glimpse of silver.

"Very funny."

Eros wasn't something he could mess up, not without some degree of effort on his part. That comforted Yuuri immensely. The only thing he had to focus on was the change in the jumps and not overcompensating on his spins. His step squence was probably even more complex and elegant than in his not-future and he could perform that without a single thought.

"Here goes! Wow, I've seen his step sequences before, but that is just amazing."

"All his jumps are planned in the second half, too, quite ambitious."

"Which is something we all know because he always does it. It is impressive though."

The music's pace quickened exponentially and Yuuri immediately launched into his quick footwork, putting the two commentators out of his mind. The sound of metal on ice was barely audible over the tempo of the music, even as he performed a drag before launching into a spin.

"God, that step sequence. That definitely is a level 3, if not 4."

As he performed, he though of Victor, his Victor, and their wedding, putting that same passion into his every move - the cock of his hip, the sway of his arm - and it was easy to fall into the familiar dance. The world fell away around him, and for the first time he thought of the not-future while performing, no thoughts of guilt or doubt or fear clouded his mind and he sunk into the warmth of his Victor's love. He could almost see the familiar silhouette dancing right next to him. An Ina Bauer, then a Camel spin, steady now. He could see Victor dance in and out of the shadows, moonlight a halo behind his head.

"The first half has gone by and it's onto jumps next."

"He has a triple axel planned for his firts jump."

He went into a spread-eagle and openned the eyes he hadn't realized he had closed. Victor was there, in the stands, watching him with awe and amazement, and Yuuri gave him a soft, loving smile before transitioning into his first jump. He jumped, making one, two, three and a half rotations before landing.

"Triple axel, very well executed."

The look on Victor's face reminded him of their honeymoon. Victor had insisted Yuuri try on a wedding dress and Yuuri had eventually relented, but not before dragging out a promise that Victor would try it on, too. Victor had never gotten the chance to try it on though, since the man had, ah, completely lost control after seeing Yuuri in it. A soft blush lit up Yuuri's face as he moved onto his next jump.

"Is that a blush?"

"Here comes the triple Salchow!"

Yuuri's blades clanked a little harder than necessary against the ice; he really should stop thinking about their honeymoon while skating, or else he'd finish looking like a tomato. Victor was just as... enthusiastic in the bedroom as in daily life.

"The landing was a little wobbly, but look at that passion!"

"It was in a Tano position, as well!"

"There's one more jump combination planned, a Triple Lutz-Triple Toe."

"No quads, as expected from Katsuki."

Yuuri took a deep breath, firmly thinking of his and Victor's pair skate in 2016 as he moved to jump. Their rings glinted on their hands and there was the phantom sensation of hands pressing against his waist and Yuuri easily launched first into the Lutz, then the Toe Loop.

"Triple Lutz, look at that height! Triple Toe Loop is just as great!"

His landing was perfect, better than it had ever been before, and Yuuri was smiling as he spun in place for his final spin before breaking out of it and engaging in his final pose.

There was a thunderous applause as Yuuri panted and bowed, picking up a stuffed poodle on his way off the ice, fingers against the place his ring was in the not-future. Even with the knowledge that he didn't have what he had envisioned while skating, Yuuri felt only fond nostalgia and a soft sort of melancholy as Rei and Takumi congratulated him and guided him to the kiss and cry.

"That definitely deserved a high score."

"Probably the highest yet I would say. Oh! The scores are out!"

Yuuri hugged his poodle tight as he waited for the announcement

"And Yuuri Katsuki scores... 79.43! That kid is a monster on the ice!"

"He's in the lead! By over 30 points! That's crazy! That score belongs in the senior division!"

"Amazing for a junior debut! And to think he's only thirteen, god!"

Yuuri hid his grin behind the fluffy poodle as Rei ruffled his hair and Takumi patted him on the back.

* * *

 

"After that stunning performance by Yuuri Katsuki, we have Victor Nikiforov! I pity those who have to go after these two..."

Yuuri frowned a little, watching Victor step onto the ice. The teen seemed distracted by something, almost as if he were in his own world. He even threw his jacket onto Yakov's head. Poor Yakov... Victor seemed... abnormally happy? There was a bounce in his step as he got into position on the ice, but he was definitely distracted as well. Yuuri hoped that Victor was okay.

As the short proram progressed, it was obvious that Victor was either not okay or too okay. It was hard to tell with the expression of dazed joy on his face. Victor's skating was beautiful, yes, and there was more passion in his movements than Yuuri had ever seen... But...

"Eh? Wasn't that meant to be a Quad Salchow? It turned into Triple!"

The jumps. Victor had just messed up all three of the quad jumps in his short program and turned all of them into triples. Yuuri was beginning to freak out. Just a bit in front of the TV. He really really hoped that it wasn't because of him. He didn't give Victor pressure or anything, did he?

Yuuri never noticed the speculative expression Rei was wearing, her whispering in Takumi's ear, or Takumi's sudden twitching, and Yuuri most certainly had no idea what effect he really had on Victor.

* * *

**Katsuki Yuuri Debuts in the Junior Division!**

August 23rd 2006

Everyone in the figure skating world has been eagerly anticipating child prodigy Katsuki Yuuri's Junior Debut and what a debut it was! So far, the Courchevel Cup is only halfway done, but Katsuki's surprising and passionate performance in his short program has already earned him awe and prestige, so to speak. As most in the ice skating world know, Victor Nikiforov postponed his Senior Debut, why, no one is sure. But now, many think it may just be because of Katsuki Yuuri, as something amazing happened at the Courchevel Cup. Katsuki Yuuri's In Regards to Love: Eros earned him a score of 79. 43, placing him first - _first!_ \- by over a full point above Nikiforov's 78.21!

This is an amazing Victory for an amazing skater and everyone in Japan is probably cheering him on, hoping for an equally as amazing performance in the Freeskate tomorrow!

Meanwhile, over in France, Yuuri was in a zombie-like state and giving hugs liberally, not unlike how he had behaved once upon a not-future.

_I came first. What the actual fuck._

Victor was even more dazedly happy and Yakov was _so_ done with Victor's strange crush that he didn't even bother lecturing the teen on losing to a thirteen year old. Rei was discovering her inner fujoshi and Takumi was just about ready to kill the Living Legend in figure skating.

_God, if he touches Yuuri... I swear..._

Yuuri still had no idea what was going on. Not with Victor, nor with his coach(es).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, this chapter is so random at the end, but so important as well. But Yuuri doesn't realize how much charisma he has on the ice and Victor's fallen deeper in love. Takumi's overprotective older brother instincts have been officially triggered and Rei is a fujoshi, deep, deep down. Shit is only gonna get stranger from here, especially as Yurio is due to make an appearance in a chapter or two. I need to add a humor tag.
> 
> Important character development also includes Yuuri getting over his problems (surrounding his not-future) via Victor and figure skating (like always).


	6. Junior Debut Pt. 2 - Yurio & Freeskate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild Yurio appeared! And Victor gets his shit together at the freeskate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed some of the ages in the previous chapter btw. Also, Yurio is a little OoC, but eh, he's a kid.

Contrary to how he thought he would feel, Yuuri was feeling exceptionally light the next day. He was going last and he was currently in first place, but it seemed as if the weight that had been lifted from him yesterday carried over to today. Still, Yuuri didn't want to push his luck and just simply sit at the rink waiting for the freeskate to start. That would make him combust with nerves. The freeskate wasn't until 20:00, so he had plenty of time to wander around Courchevel and distract himself with the sights... especially since he had gotten up at 6 this morning thanks to Rei's enthuasiam about sightseeing and Takumi's lifeless groaning that prevented him from becoming Rei's sight-seeing partner.

Honestly, there wasn't much to see.

Courchevel was a ski resort and town in the French Alps, so it was mostly just snow and ice and fir trees. Nonetheless, Rei pulls him through the town and buys him several different snacks for breafast while lowkey marvelling at everything. Rei doesn't show much emotion, but Yuuri knows her well enough to see her joy at the beauty of the place. They end up stuffed with crepes, and carrying a small bag of goodies for Takumi as they walk through the snow-covered town.

Rei asked him at random if he wants to go skiing, to which he responded with a resounding no.

Sure, he might be a figure skater, but the one time he went skiing in his not-future he ended up flat on his face after taking the first step. He even twisted his ankle and had to pull out of the 4CCs. It wasn't something he wanted to repeat, though Rei looked facinated at the idea of trying out something new. Takumi called while he was trying to get Rei to stop pestering him about trying out skiing and they made plans to meet up with the coach at a local ice rink (one of many).

When they got there, Takumi was wearing a dark look that made Yuuri nervous and standing next to him was...

"Victor!?"

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri yelped as he was almost tackled to the ground by the force of Victor's hug and it was only Takumi pulling Victor off him (with surprising ease) that prevented Yuuri from completely toppling over. Victor didn't seem to care about how scarily angry Takumi looked and whined petulantly, reaching out for Yuuri as Takumi held his collar with a thunderous scowl. Rei snickered and didn't do anything to help the situation at all.

"Nikiforov followed me out here," Takumi explained, voice completely neutral and expression smoothing to something milder, but more intense at the same time.

"Yuuri! Let's skate together!" Victor exclaimed, suddenly pulling away from Takumi and grabbing Yuuri, dragging him closer to the rink. Takumi's yell of 'hey!' was completely ignored and Rei patted her brother on the back consolingly, pulling him away quickly in case he _actually_ went and killed Victor. Yuuri felt pretty helpless as he was pulled along, flushing slightly. It looked like the only person Yuuri had thought was sane out of all these figure skaters was also extremely odd.

"Your coach is really cool, Yuuri!" Victor suddenly said as they took off their skate guards. Yuuri was glad he had taken to bringing his skates everywhere.

Yuuri blinked, pausing as he stepped onto the ice. "Yeah, he is," Yuuri agreed, a little confused at the sudden subject of conversation. How did Victor even know his coach? Victor was usually completely oblivious about most of the other skaters and never really bothered to look into his competitors, never mind retired figure skaters. "Um... how do you know Takumi-san?"

Victor blinked back at him, sensing his confusion. "Eh? Don't you know? He's pretty famous," Victor informed him, "He landed two consecutive backflips at the 1997 Grand Prix Final, but was heavily penalized for it and came last. Backflips, even with a one-foot landing, were listed as illegal moves the following year at the Winter Olympics."

"Wait, what?" Yuuri looked at Victor with surprised eyes, not having known or even thought about backflips in figure skating. The idea of a backflip on ice seemed dangerous and nigh impossible to Yuuri. "That's..."

"Amazing, right?" Victor chirped happily. "He doesn't seem to like me much though."

Yuuri frowned in thought. Honestly, it hadn't looked like Victor had noticed that. "Yeah, that's really strange. Takumi usually likes everyone."

The rink was pretty large but also very empty. A few children were messing around on the other side. Their parents were no where in sight. Yuuri spared a moment to be concerned before Victor pulled him into the middle of the rink, nearly making him fall in the process. "Victor!" he complained, "Slow down!"

"We should ask Ihara to perform a backflip for us!" Victor decided cheerfully.

"What, no!" Yuuri objected, "He was injured and can't compete competitively anymore, Victor!"

Victor blinked slowly at him. "Wait, really?"

Yuuri fought the urge to facepalm.

"Shut up!" The shout in Russian caught their attention and Yuuri and Victor turned their head to look at the group of kids. There were a group of older kids surrounding a younger kid with golden blonde hair. It was the youngest who was yelling.

"Ha! You're just a little wimp with no talent and you know it! All you've got is a big mouth!"

"Yeah, why don't you quit now! There's no way you could catch up with someone like Nikiforov."

"I bet your mother left because you were so useless!"

"What's going on here?"

Yuuri had quickly skated over to resolve the situation, a concerned and stern look on his face. One of the boys, who Yuuri presumed to be the leader, sneered at him. "Go away short-stack."

Yuuri faltered in surprise before he realized that he was only a thirteen year old, and a short one at that (unfortunately). The boys were all around his age, perhaps younger, but at least two of the group of five were taller than him. "You're the ones who should leave," Yuuri replied, calm but firm, "Only the weak gang up on others and the ice isn't a place for rabblerousers."

They turned more in his direction, stances aggressive, but Yuuri merely raised his chin and crossed his arms, refusing to back down.

"Yuuri's right, ya know?" The cheerful voice that joined their conversation came from Victor, who was much taller and looked mature. There was a hint of steel behind the cheer though. At the sight of the seventeen year old, the group scattered, leaving the youngest next to Yuuri and Victor. Yuuri almost gasped as he got a good look at the child, eyes widening in surprise.

"That's right! Run away! Idiots!" Five-year old Yurio screamed at the retreating group of boys with as much fire and vehemence as his older self. The sight brought a soft, fond smile to Yuuri's face. He ddn't notice Victor stiffening beside him.

Yurio's head swung around to face them again and the child's eyes grew wide with surprise and awe. "Yuuri Katsuki!" he squeaked, blushing and making Yuuri blink rapidly at the uncharacteristic behavior. Well... Yuuri supposed Yurio wasn't always a small, angry teen. This Yurio was surprisingly cute as he gaped at Yuuri. "Wow!" a grin appeared on the childish face as excitement sparked, much to Yuuri's confusion. "I've seen your routines, they're so beautiful! I hope to skate with the same beauty one day! I can't believe I'm meeting you in person! You're my idol!"

"M-me?" This time it was Yuuri to squeak, "W-well, thank you." He flushed deeply at the compliment. Not-future Yurio rarely gave compliments. Child-Yurio seemed to give them so freely. "I-I didn't realize I was so popular..."

"Oh what? No, well..." Yurio suddenly scowled and crossed his arms. "Those guys were idiots," he spat, ducking his head "completely useless on the ice, especially since they didn't even recognize you." There was a slight tremble in Yurio's voice and Yuuri realized that he must have been more affected by the harsh words than he let on. It... It was around this time that Yurio's mother had died, wasn't it? That was what the kids meant by Yurio's mother leaving him. Yuuri's mood became melancholy; children could be very cruel sometimes.

There was a burning behind his eyes and Yuuri felt tears welling, knowing how Yurio must be feeling. He bent a little so he was level with Yurio before giving him a hug. He heard a soft gasp beside his ear. "Hey, don't listen to their words okay? What they say doesn't matter, and the people who matter to you will keep loving you no matter what, alright? They don't understand anything that happens with you." He pulled away, keeping Yurio within an arm's length by placing his hands on Yurio's shoulders. The child's eyes were wide and teary and Yuuri brushed a tear away with his finger, gentle. "Hey, now, none of that. No sad thoughts, okay? Everyone who loves you wants you to be happy. And I want you to be happy, too," Yuuri kept up the gentle Russian. Yurio nodded and sniffed a little, rubbing at his eyes furiously. "Will you tell me your name?"

"Y-Yuri Plisetsky," the young boy stammered, regaining his composure, "We have the same name, which is pretty awesome." A weak, but genuine smile.

Yuuri chuckled as well. "It is," he agreed before glancing up at Victor who was looking on with some undefinable emotion. "Hey, you're learning ice skating aren't you? Why don't you show me and Victor what you've learned so far?"

A slight frown appeared on Yurio's face before he finally seemed to notice Victor, whose silver hair was hidden under a woolly hat. His eyes widened in surprise again before they narrowed and he nodded, determinedly.

"Hey, no awe for me?" Victor asked with a pout and puppy-eyes.

Yurio just narrowed his eyes at Victor and stepped away to gain some space, stunning Victor with his reaction. Yurio gained some speed on the ice before going into a basic layback spin and then performing a very simple jump before spinning in an upright position and posing, which was rather impressive with the amount of grace the child already had.

"Wow, that was really good, Yuri!" Yuuri complimented, clapping along with Victor, who still seemed a bit dazed with Yurio's lack of friendliness.

Yurio became surprisingly shy at the compliment, blushing. "You really think so? I mean, I'm not as good as you are..."

"No, it was great! When I tried performing a spin at your age I fell flat on my back!"

"Really, Yuuri?!" Yurio gasped in open surprise and Yuuri nodded seriously.

"Yup!"

"Um... This is actually a bit confusing," Yurio admitted, "Since we're both called Yuri..."

"Well what about we give you a nickname?" Victor suggested, clinging onto Yuuri again and having recovered from Yurio's lowkey hostility. This turned the narrow eyed look into a slight glare.

"How about Yurio?" Yuuri suggested, caught off guard by Yurio's attitude to Victor, and Yurio returned to smiling at Yuuri.

"Okay!"

_Wow, what? That was a quick agreement._

"Great! Then you'll be Yurio!" Victor exclaimed, shaking off the glare.

"No! Only Yuuri can call me that!" Yurio huffed, scowling thunderously.

"What, why?" Victor whined petulantly.

Yurio pointed a finger at Victor challengingly. "Victor Nikiforov! You're my rival! I'll defeat you on the ice one day and then _I'll_ marry Yuuri!"

Victor twitched violently, smiling a strained and slightly cold smile.

Yuuri's brain short-circuited.

(One day, in the future, Yurio would come to regret this moment as he realized none of the three participants/witnesses had forgotten it, and probably would continue bringing it up again and again (that's mostly Victor) to embarass him)

* * *

Victor was quick to insist on finding Yurio's guardian and returning him, to which Yurio cried 'sabotage!' Yuuri was more inclined to agree with Victor though, as Yurio's grandfather was probably worried sick. Victor was glad to drop Yurio off, only to realize they would be returning to the rink where the Courchevel Cup was held together, since Yurio had come with his grandfather to watch.

Thankfully, Yurio's stunning confession (could you call it a confession?) kept Yuuri's brain occupied and away from the nerves and pressure for the rest of the day. Victor continued smiling twitchily and Takumi and Rei were just confused. Yakov just didn't even bother trying to find out what had happened. He didn't need to either. Victor skated beautifully, if a bit aggressively, to his freeskate routine and Yuuri was happy to see that Victor was back to normal.

Victor landed four quads, the last of which was is signature quad flip, and Yuuri knew that his program would have no chance of beating Victor's in the technical score. Victor's movements were flawless, his landing impeccable and there was a strange _passion_ in his program. His step squences deserved at least a level 3. He nearly collapsed on the ice from exhaustion though, yet was strangely happy when Yuuri fretted over him in concern.

Victor had gotten a 179.24*, beating his personal best and the Junior World Record... by a terrifying margin of over 30 points.

When Yuuri went up after him, he wasn't nervous. He was just really, really confused. Nonetheless, he shook it off to skate.

"After that incredible performance by the Living Legend of Russia, Nikiforov is leading by... wow... over sixty points! Katsuki Yuuri is our next skater and currently holds the highest score for the short program. However, will he be able to beat Nikiforov without the use of quads in his freeskate?"

"Katsuki is skating to the first part of the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth. He has most of his jumps planned in the second half, again, and has, again, incorporated no quads into the routine."

Yuuri was actually kind of disappointed that the ban on lyrical music was still in place. He had originally wanted to skate the gag routine not-future Victor had choreographed for some strange death metal song as a tribute to Victor's... Victor-ness. Next time he was going for the dubstep one regardless of how ridiculous it was.

"Good luck, Yuuri!"

Yurio's voice nearly made him trip on the ice, so loud and unexpected as it was.

"Go, Yuuri, go!" That was Victor being extra loud, wasn't it?

Yuuri's freeskate was much less emotional and more just simply enjoyable for him, what with Victor and Yurio trying to... out yell each other? Or something? Yuuri thought it lacked passion, probably from how off-kilter he was, emotionally. His brain was still trying to reboot after the Yurio incident. The routine ended with a Triple Toe-Single Toe-Triple Salchow combination that had the crowd screaming and Yuuri entered the kiss and cry knowing he had lost to Victor. Rei and Takumi were proud of him though, and affectionately ruffled his hair as his score was announced to be a 141.56, still about 30 points above the third place freeskater.

Standing on the podium with Victor above him and Yurio glaring at Victor from the stands, Yuuri felt content, if extremely confused, as he accepted the silver-place medal.

* * *

 

**Victor Nikiforov Sets Record!**

August 30th 2006

In the absolutely stunning performance at the Courchevel Cup, we witnessed a miracle. The Living Legend Victor Nikiforov has beaten his person best and previous Junior World Record in his freeskate by a margin of 32 points! This incredulous performance seemed to come from the sheer passion Nikiforov had skated with. The performance itself seemed oddly aggressive, even. We can only wonder at what had changed in Nikiforov for such a performance to happen...

**Katsuki Yuuri Obtains Silver at Junior Debut!**

September 1st 2006

Katsuki had been in first place for the Short Program of the Courchevel but was ridiculously out performed at the freeskate by none other than Victor Nikiforov and lost by over 30 points. Nonetheless, Katsuki achieved an amazing score of 221 and has stunned everyone with his sheer talent in his Junior Debut. There is no question of if he'll make it to the JGPF this year...

Yurio scowled, determination and discontent burning in him. He would get better, had to get better. One day... One day he would beat Victor without Quads on the ice and skate against Yuuri as equals. He was certain of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 179.24 is the current Junior World Record, set by Vincent Zhou at the 2017 World Junior Championships


	7. After the Junior Debut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri fails to learn skiing and gets ready for the Chinese Taipei Cup, Yurio gets angry, Victor discovers Facebook, Rei leaves for England, and Takumi gains respect for Victor. Also, everyone except Yuuri manages to learn skiing/can ski.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone in my class got a full-tuition scholarship for Trinity College (arguably the best and most famous college in Cambridge), Cambridge Computer Science. Terrifying. And he's considering going to Princeton instead lol. I got into Oxford, but I didn't win a scholarship that basically allows me to go for free! Terrifying kids ay.
> 
> Rei's gonna be disappearing for a while (to England, ahoy!) after this. There's a lot of Rei and Takumi in this chapter, mostly because Rei will be appearing less and less after this.
> 
> Victor's texting killed me, btw. I'm officially dead. I hate typing like that. Without punctuation and capitalization. -.-

"Yuuri, let's go skiing."

The declaration was made by Rei, who had stopped on the edge of the area where the beginner's ski slope was. The hill was large and quite tall, but not very sleep and the slope was rather wide with no rocks or such obstacles blocking the way. It was apparently perfect for beginners.

 _Liars_ , Yuuri venomously thought. He had faceplanted on a beginner's slope once in the not-future and hadn't been able to get _up_ without Victor's help, nevermind down the hill. Skiing was hell. It was terrible. It was horrible and Rei seemed determined to spend at least a part of their five extra days in Courchevel learning something new: skiing.

"Can we not?" Yuuri asked, a bit helplessly.

Of course, he knew he wasn't going to win this argument, especially since Rei was leaving for Cambridge, England next month. The girl was a goddamn genius, getting into Cambridge Trinity College with a scholarship that covered her entire tuition. Contrary to Yuuri's expectations, she wasn't doing a psychology degree, but she had applied for Medical School in pursuit of a M.D. for Psychiatry. They were still staying in Courchevel, partly to see her off, partly to take a break. As Takumi was one of three instructors/coaches at their rink, he could afford to take some time off with Yuuri, especially since Yuuri was the only one competing at an international level, out of all of Takumi's students.

So, on the second day after his freeskate, Yuuri found himself at the top of the beginner's slope with a new pair of skis, next to Rei and Takumi, learning how to ski. Of course, like the all-around genius she was, Rei mastered the very basics within the hour and could easily make her way down the slope. Takumi was a little slower at learning, but had still managed to get down the slope without help by the end of the day.

Yuuri... Yuuri was faceplanted at the top of the slope by the end of the day and that was all he had to show for it. Rei was inhumane. She was some sort of robot. Clearly. Same with Takumi, actually.

By noon on the third day, however, Rei had declared herself bored with the sport and allowed Yuuri back onto the ice rink, thank god. This sort of behavior was probably the only reason why she had yet to take over the world. Yuuri hadn't learned how to ski, at all, but had learned that Rei was an exceptionally fast learner at literally everything, who almost always hit a plateu relatively early on in her studies because she just simply got bored of the entire thing before she could go in-depth.

Either way, she was terrifying and Yuuri was just relieved to have both feet back on the ice and not face deep in snow.

"Yuuri!"

"Ah, Yurio," Yuuri greeted, surprised, as the small blonde came skating up to him at the rink with a smile. He was still a little brain-fried from the, uh, confession, but he decided to just pretend Yurio had never said anything about marriage. If he thought too hard about it, he was pretty sure his brain would split in half or something. Yuuri could see Yurio's grandfather watching from beside the rink today. "How are you today?"

"I'm okay, I guess," Yurio replied, reigning in his excitement with visible effort.

God, little Yurio was so cute. Yuuri smiled almost dopily. "That's good. How's your vacation going?"

"It's going well," Yurio gave a smug smirk, "I went skiing and I was, of course, great at it." Not Yurio, too... Suddenly, Yurio's smirk turned into a thunderous scowl as his gaze shifted to somewhere above Yuuri's shoulder.

"Yuuri!" Victor's excitable voice preluded his sudden and fierce hug. Yuuri yelped, taken by surprise as Victor's weight hit him.

"Hey, watch it, old man!" Yurio snapped with just as much venom as his older self carried.

"Yurio!" Victor exclaimed with amusement and obviously fake surprise. "I didn't see you there, pipsqueak!"

"P-pipsqueak!?" Yurio yelled furiously, "Who're you calling pipsqueak, you greying old man?! And get off of Yuuri! Don't you know the meaning of personal space, idiot?!"

Victor let go of Yuuri with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a sharpness to his smile. Yuuri had a bad feeling about this. He opened his mouth and reached out a hand to prevent anything from happening but it was too late.

"Aw... Yurio, don't be jealous, I'll hug you, too!"

Yurio's eyes widened and he immediately dashed off, yelling, "Stay away from me!" while Victor chased him with a smile and open arms. Yuuri sighed and just gave up, doing a few stretches and skating a few figures to warm up. At least Victor and Yurio would both be warmed up as well by the time he finished. He could see some people giving Victor strange looks though.

Takumi joined him on the ice with Rei, who did a few simple jumps, avoiding the small, angry blonde and the obliviously slightly-sadistic Victor. Takumi was mostly smiling and calm and gentle again, except for the scary and dark looks he would throw at Victor every now and again.

"Oh, er, Takumi-sensei," Yuuri piped up, wanting to keep Takumi's mind off of whatever Victor had done to piss the usually gentle man off. Takumi turned curious eyes to him, smiling softly. "Um, Victor told me you could perform a backflip on the ice. That's really impressive!" He quickly appended the last part when he noticed Takumi's smile straining and his eyes going a little wider at the mention of Victor's name. That expression was... creepy as hell. But it quickly melted away into the bashful expression Yuuri had known the man to have in most situations.

"Oh, well," Takumi flushed a little and ducked his head, "It's not that impressive..."

"It really is!" Yuuri insisted with a firm nod. "Can you show me?"

"Oh, I want to see, too!" Victor suddenly came skidding back to latch onto Yuuri and Yurio wasn't far behind, hair mussed up and angrily muttering.

Takumi narrowed his eyes at Victor but nodded. "Alright." He skated away, gaining speed. In the middle of the rink, he suddenly bent and jumped, skates flying overhead, before landing one foot before the other on the ice and arms out for balance.

"Whao!" Victor started clapping, an awed look on his face. Yuuri clapped, too, witnessing a backflip on ice for the first time, and even Yurio couldn't hide his shock and amazement. The youg boy was almost openly gaping. Takumi skated back slowly with a sheepish smile. "That was amazing!" Victor exclaimed, "How come you don't compete anymore if you're still so good?"

Takumi didn't seem very used to praise, and he looked away in embarassment. At least he wasn't looking as if he wanted to murder Victor anymore. "Oh, I get, um... psychosomic?"

"Psychosomatic," Rei corrected, having came over during the backflip.

"Ah, right, psychosomatic pains and tremors," Takumi finished with a melancholy half-smile on his face. "That means I occaisionally experience the pain of my previous injury or uncontrollable tremors, despite being completely healed, especially when stressed or tired. So I'm really in no shape to compete." Yuuri frowned and Yurio looked a bit confused, but solemn at the same time.

Victor was uncharacteristically serious as he opened his mouth and spoke. "You're very strong, to continue teaching and coaching the way you have..." The words made a burning start behind Yuuri's eyes, but at the same time it brought a smile to Yuuri's face.

Takumi bit his lip, looking at Victor with the same gentle look he gave Yuuri. "Thank you."

There was a pause and Yuuri took a breath to steady his emotions, both the sadness and the fondness. It wasn't nearly as overwhelmning as it once was, but it still brought a tightness to his chest that he wished he could hold onto, yet knew to let go at the same time.

"Can you do backflips, too?" Victor asked, looking towards Rei.

Rei huffed and raised an eyebrow. "Hell no," she rolled her eyes, "I quit all forms of artistic sport in middle school. Plus, my flexibility only extends to raising my foot above my head to kick people in the face." Her voice was cheerful as she smiled, eyes closing serenely.

Victor's smile faltered just slightly and Yurio looked at Rei in awe.

Yuuri frowned, confused. He thought Rei liked Victor and _didn't_ actually wish harm upon his person.

* * *

 Rei's goodbye party was an interesting affair. Takumi had called up the kids in their rink so they could all wish her goodbye and goodluck and they kept yelling over each other in their scramble to talk with Rei. Rei was apparently very popular with kids, despite her obvious irritation with them. She ended up leaving in the middle of it to catch her flight.

Victor's send off was only a little less loud and much more teary... On Victor's part. He clung onto Yuuri, wailing, until the paparzzi caught on and Yakov had to drag him off. "Yuuuuuurrriiiiii! Call meeeeee!" Were Victor's last words before he disappeared deeper into the airport. Yuuri wasn't sure how to respond. International calls were _expensive_.

Yuuri's own departure was much less chaotic. Yurio had come to see him off at the airport and give him his email address so they could stay in contact. Yurio was pouting, just slightly, and eventually gave Yuuri a hug and a quiet "take care" before Yuuri had to leave.

All in all, Courchevel had been strange but great.

* * *

 

The day Victor discovered Facebook was a normal day. Mostly.

Yuuri had gotten an account as soon as Facebook became availible to the general public instead of just students. It hadn't been a completely conscious or planned thing on his part. It was more of a nod towards how popular and important the social networking platform would become in future years. Either way, Takumi and Rei had both caught onto this rather quickly and signed up out of curiosity, so Yuuri had them both as friends on the site.

Then, one day, he woke to a friend request on Facebook from Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri just stared.

Honestly, it hadn't occurred to him until this very moment when Victor apparently friended him on Facebook before doing anything else with his account how strangely and amazingly natural their friendship was. It hadn't really sunk in until now that somehow, _the_ Victor Nikiforov, had befriended him and been befriended by him in turn. It wasn't so much hero worship guiding these thoughts as it was a curiosity. He nad Victor seemed inexplicably tied together in some way. Maybe, it was the designs of fate. Maybe it was chance. But somehow, somehow, their paths had conincided and they had influenced each other. There was no doubt to that.

His phone buzzed and he fumbled a bit trying to read it. He definitely prefered the smartphones of the future.

It was a text.

_yuuri!_

_are you awake? ^o^_

It was Victor. Of course it was Victor.

_Yes, I am. I just woke up._

_gr8! :D_ Victor texted back mere moments later and Yuuri smiled at the emojis Victor made. They were pretty amatuer, compared to not-future Victor's, but then again, every emoji master had to start somewhere. _accept my friend request on facebook yuuri!_ came next, _yakov said i'm wasting too much money texting you like this. he should be glad i dont call you every day ;)_

 _Sure,_ Yuuri replied before appending, _Don't purposefully try to annoy Yakov, Victor._

 _o3o_ was the only reply he got to that.

Yuuri quickly clicked accept, rolling his eyes at the very Victor-esque response.

 _I have to go to practice, now_ , Yuuri informed the other, _I'll text you later._

_ok, have fun :D_

Three hours later, Yuuri returned to _You have 376 notifications._

_Maybe accepting that friend request was a bad idea._

* * *

**Victor:** Finally figured out how to upload pictures. Me and Yuuri at Courchevel! ;D

 **Victor Nikiforov** tagged **Yuuri Katsuki** , **Takumi Ihara** and **Rei Ihara**

375 likes

 **Takumi:** You took pictures?

 **Victor** : Yup!

 **Rei:** That's cute

 **Takumi:** You're still awake? Isn't it 4 am over there?

 **Rei:** Taekwondo practice

 **Rei:** And it's actually 5:25 am

 **Rei:** How do you upload pictures?

 **Rei:** Not that I'm ever going to upload anything, but it's nice to know just in case.

 **Yuuri:** When did you take this? How come I didn't notice?

 **Yuuri** : @Rei, you do Taekwondo?

 **Rei** : Did you think I was joking when I said I could kick Victor in the face?

 **Victor** : I knew it! You were threatening me! :(

 **Victor** : I'm not telling you how to upload pictures now!

 **Rei** : Yeah, because I care

 **Victor** : :(

 **Yuuri:** Don't be mean, Rei

 **Victor:** Yeah, Rei, don't be mean

 **Victor:** Yuuri is on my side  <3

 **Yuuri:** Don't be obnoxious, Victor

 **Victor:** :(

 **Rei:** Pfft.

 **Takumi** : Don't you ALL have practice?

 **Rei** : Even if I don't practice, I still still kick all your asses. I'm a black belt.

 **Rei** : That heart looks like a happy cyclops

 **Rei** : I'm calling you cyclops from now on @Victor

 **Takumi** : Go practice

 **Victor** : Yuuri! Rei's being mean again! :(

 **Georgi** : Victor, Yakov wants you to go practice.

 **Victor** : Noooooo! Yuuri, save me!

 **Victor** : Yuuri?!

 **Victor** : @Yuuri

 **Victor** : @Yuuri

 **Yakov** : VICTOR!!!

 **Yakov** : GET ON THE ICE, NOW!!!!

 **Rei** : :P Sucks for you, cyclops

 **Victor** : D:

* * *

 

28/09/06

From: ice_takumi@yahoo.co.jp

To: katsu_yuuri17@yahoo.co.jp, ihara_rei@yahoo.co.jp

Your routine is excellent as ever, Yuuri-kun. I suggest switching the jump combo at the beginning with the triple flip at the end and make sure your back is a bit straighter for that camel spin, you're wobbling a bit when you come out of it. You don't have to, but I know your stamina can take it. However, are you sure you want to perform two different freeskates? Don't push yourself, okay?

And, Rei, are you done with the music?

Ihara Takumi

29/09/06

From: ihara_rei@yahoo.co.jp

To: katsu_yuuri17@yahoo.co.jp, ice_takumi@yahoo.co.jp

If you do decide to go for the different freeskate, I can tell you that the music is almost ready. I'll need another seven days at most. However, you might not get much of a chance to practice between getting the music and the Taipei cup. Your performance might be out of sync with the music if that's the case. I think you should switch to doing your new routine at the Finals if you're confident with it.

01/10/06

From: katsu_yuuri17@yahoo.co.jp

To: ihara_rei@yahoo.co.jp, ice_takumi@yahoo.co.jp

Sorry for the delay, our ethernet connection died for a while :(

I'll make sure to watch out for that next time, thanks, Takumi. I'll be fine, so don't worry.

Wow, that's fast! And yeah, I think I'll perform it at the finals instead of the Taipei cup.

04/10/06

From: ihara_rei@yahoo.co.jp

To: katsu_yuuri17@yahoo.co.jp, ice_takumi@yahoo.co.jp

The music is attatched. There's only the instrumental version. I thought you might want that first, since you'll be skating to it. The full version will be sent ASAP. We have our singers, but they haven't found much free time yet. They're all in either Med or Math, which are the most busy two majors, from what I've seen. School's just started.

And, it wasn't much work, to be honest, since you provided the lyrics and the basic tune and all, which nice work, btw, it's beautiful. It helps that I also made a lot of talented friends who like your skating in the past month.

* * *

 **Victor** : Look who I found while skiing! It's Yurio! :DDDD

598 likes

 **Victor Nikiforov** tagged **Yuuri Katsuki**.

 **Yuuri** : You can ski?

 **Yuuri** : And don't antagonize him, Victor

 **Victor** : I would never! (And yes I can ski)

 **Yuuri** : :(

 **Yuuri** : Victor.

 **Victor** : Yuuri. ;)

 **Rei** : Hey, it's the _angry pipsqueak._

 **Victor** : AHAHAHA!! XD _Nice, Rei! When did you learn Russian?_

 **Rei** : I have no idea what you're typing, cyclops. I know it's Russian, but I literally went online just to translate the words "angry pipsqueak" into Russian

 **Yuuri** : Rei.

 **Rei** : Yuuri.

 **Yuuri** : Am I the only sensible one around here?

 **Yuuri** : And Yuri's young, not short.

 **Yuuri** : I'll never forgive you guys if you give him a height complex or something

 **Rei** : He's shorter than you, and that's saying something

 **Rei** : Since you're pretty short, too, Yuuri

 **Rei** : Even for your age :)

 **Yuuri** : ...

 **Yuuri** : If I say I'm 13 and he's only 5 will it make sound it worse or better?

 **Victor** : Hey! Yuuri isn't short! He's fun sized :D

 **Rei** : Nice one, cyclops

 **Yuuri** : I hate you both.

 **Victor** : *heartbroken* :(

 **Yuuri** : You deserve it

 **Rei** : Sucks for you, cyclops

 **Takumi** : You all spend too much time on Facebook

* * *

 

**The Chinese Taipei Cup**

October 7th 2006

After Victor Nikiforov's victory at the The Hague yesterday, everyone who knows anything knows that he's a definite qualifier for the JGP finals! The next event is going to be the Chinese Taipei Cup! And guess who's participating! None other than the prodigy skater Katsuki Yuuri, and last year's Super Junior Christophe Giacometti! These two promising skaters will battle it out at the Chinese Taipei Cup in four days time. Both Giacometti and Katsuki made an impression with their extremely sensual debut programs and stunning routines in their debuting years. I know everyone is eager to see how this will go!

...

Chris smiled to himself. Victor seemed to be making friends on Facebook. Maybe he should go do the same.

"Giacometti! Get back to work!"

Chris winced at his coach's yelling, almost dropping his laptop.

Or... maybe not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, we'll be properly introducing Chris.
> 
> Also, Facebook started off as thefacebook, a website open only to Harvard students, apparently. Now look at it, how much it's grown, how much the standards have dropped, how capitalistic it's become, how globalized and liberal, all the ups and downs of life. How we fujoshi have taken over our own little section of it with our wicked ideas :) *proud fujoshi* XD


	8. Chinese Taipei Cup Pt. 1 - Short Program & Chris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri meets the Chris of this world at the Chinese Taipei Cup. He is also confronted with the fact that not everyone has the same attitude towards competitions as he and his friends in the not-future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, there will be quite a few OCs in this story since I realized that there definitely more than three skaters (Chris, Victor and Yuuri) in the Junior division, who will probably interact with Yuuri and the others. Three new OCs are introduced here. My right brain apparently decided I needed more antagonism and conflict in this story. So now we have Caelum, who'll be playing the part of an antagonist of a sort. With him comes Rachel and Lucian (though he doesn't really appear, so much as get mentioned). Let's hope I can breathe life into them like I did Takumi and Rei. And Caelum is British because I'm British and really wanted a British character to appear. All characters are fictional btw, and if they hold resemblence to any real person, it's coincidental (I'm serious, I know like three different people from the figure skating scene and I am, according to my friends, fame-blind. As in if you show me a picture of a celebrity, I will not be able to name them 95% of the time. I didn't even know who Nick Cage was (and I'm still unsure of the reason of his fame) and I won't recognize a picture of Tom Cruise, so yeah)
> 
> I am so unsatisfied with this chapter. I cannot get Chris right D:

The Chinese Taipei Cup garnered just as much attention as the Courchevel Cup did despite Victor's absence. Everyone who knew something about junior ice skating wanted to see the clash between last year's super junior, Christophe Giacometti and this year's skating prodigy, Katsuki Yuuri. Everyone was wondering how they would react to each other, how their first meeting would go. Would they become the rivals of the generation or friends to last until the bitter end? Who would win? Who would lose? What would they do?

The excited yammering of everyone was a little daunting for Yuuri to be honest. He had never dealt well with public attention, and usually preferred to ignore it and keep a low profile. This was unlike Victor, JJ and Chris who all enjoyed the spotlight. Sometimes a little too much. Yuuri really couldn't predict how Chris would react to him though. While he and Chris had been good friends in the not-future, Victor was closer to the other skater and understood him more. Chris was nice, but competitive and Yuuri was pretty certain that when they interacted as juniors in the past of the not-future (this was getting confusing) Chris only felt sorry for him and his self-isolation. They had become great friends though, what with how close all the skaters of their generation had become.

Yuuri had been half-dreading, half-anticipating their meeting, but he hadn't seen Chris even once for the past two days. Now, on the day of the competition, at his most nervous, he would probably have to interact with Chris. Or maybe he wouldn't and they'd just pass each other by as strangers? Yuuri almost laughed out loud at that. Knowing Chris, there was no way Chris wouldn't approach Yuuri. Yuuri really didn't want to screw up his and Chris' first meeting.

He was so nervous to be here.

Takumi was a grounding presence at his side along with Minako, who had decided to come in place of Rei to give him support. Rei was probably watching the live broadcast in England right now. Or maybe she wasn't. He wasn't sure. She hadn't seemed busy the last time they emailed each other, but apparently med students had a lot of coursework.

Yuuri knew it was the waiting, the wondering that got to him. It always was. He knew he was going to be meeting Chris and he had just worried himself sick. It was so like him to fixiate and worry and just work himself up (which was one of the reasons why Celestino used to regularly put him on social media blackout; ignorance was bliss). His first meetngs with both Yurio and Victort had happened so fast that he had mostly skipped the waiting and worrying.

He sighed softly as Takumi placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the rink for the official practice.

Suddenly, he stumbled as a larger body knocked into him, nearly sending him to the ground if it weren't for Takumi's quick reflexes. A teenager with long light brown hair had barged past them and was quickly walking away. Minako gaped for a moment before she started yelling. "Hey, asshole! What the hell was that!?" But she was ignored.

"Caelum!" An older girl run up to them, and hunched over, catching her breath before she straightened. "S-sorry about my friend," she apologized, bowing, before running off again, yelling for Caelum to wait. The two of them looked familiar, but Yuuri had no idea where he might have seen them before. The name Caelum was definitely one he knew though. He was pretty sure the exact same name was on the list of participants for the Taipei Cup Takumi had given him.

"Um... I'm competing against him, aren't I?" Yuuri asked, looking up at Takumi, who wore a conflicted expression.

"Yeah... Caelum Whitwind is definitely someone to look out for. He's pretty famous in the pair skating scene for consecutively winning gold in novice and junior ISU competitions," Takumi informed him, nodding in the direction the two had disappeared off to, "That was his partner, Rachel Pryde. He only entered the Junior Singles events this year. No one's certain of the reason, but Pryde is apparently taking a break."

That explained why he looked familiar, but it didn't explain why Takumi looked so worried. Yuuri wasn't given a chance to ask as he was herded towards the rink again.

* * *

He didn't see Chris until official practice, where the slightly older skater was pouting as his coach yelled at him about something or another. Yuuri couldn't help but chuckle a little, feeling slightly more at ease at the sight. Chris and Victor were really quite alike at times. He took off his skate guards and handed them to Takumi, but was stopped from going directly onto the ice by a hand on his shoulder. "Yuuri," Takumi intoned, the conflicted look still on his face, "I don't want to-to force you to make a judgement about someone before you know them, and I want you to know that what I know, what I'm going to say is based on rumors and not necessarily facts... But nonetheless, be careful of Whitwind."

Yuuri paused, surprised. Takumi was gentle and forgiving, rarely focusing on the faults of others (except for the debacle with Victor; Yuuri still had no idea what that was about), so his solemn suggestion was both surprising and deeply worrying. Yuuri nodded in response, his brows furrowing just slightly. "Why... why does his presence worry you?" he asked softly.

Takumi huffed out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "It's just... His attitude for one is definitely not like what you're probably used to. He's also a suspect for sabotage and has managed to make a few of his competitors quit the skating scene altogether, though his skating is rather incredible, especially on the pairs scene."

Yuuri worried his lip with his teeth and glanced at the skater he had just been warned about. The older boy was leaning against the barrier, talking softly to his partner as he looked around. His gaze landed on Yuuri and immediately sharpened into a glare. Yuuri averted his gaze and skated onto the rink, nodding at Takumi to show he had understood.

Yuuri wasn't sure how to react to this new possible threat. In the era of his, Yurio and Victor's dominance on the rink, most of the skaters were cheerful and supportive of one another, if not good friends. Some were a little anti-social and many of them compeitive, but even then the least friendly were Seung-gil and Yuri, who were both standoffish only in attitude.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sudden appearance of hands on his waist, which made him jump as a loud voice greeted him. "Hi! You're Yuuri Katsuki, right?"

"Y-yes!" Yuuri squeaked as he turned, dislodging the hands.

It was Chris. Of course it was Chris.

Thank god he didn't yet greet people like he did in the not-future. Thank god he didn't greet _Yuuri_ like he did in the not-future (which, unbeknowst to Yuuri, was purely for the sake of making Victor jealous).

"Man, you're adorable," Chris declared, grinning, "I'm Christophe Giacometti, if you didn't already know."

"I-I knew," Yuuri stuttered, "A-and I'm not adorable."

"Haha, of course you are!" Chris rebuked him, joyfully. "I've seen your performances by the way! If I hadn't, I would've never known you could pull off what you did with Eros. You look like the kind of person who'll always stay cute and never venture into the realm of erotic. It was a greatly arousing performance." Chris winked at him and Yuuri flushed, burying his head in his hands.

"God, I-this-"

"Hey, what are you so embarassed about?" Chris asked, prying Yuuri's hands away. "It was good! Beautiful! Too bad I'll be the one to claim gold this time." He grinned at Yuuri.

Yuuri glared up at Chris (more of a pout, really), "First, it _is_ embarassing and you have no shame. And second, _I'll_ be taking gold."

Chris looked taken aback for a second before grinning even wider than before. "Well what do you know, kitten's got claws! I'll be looking forwards to your performance. It'll be no fun if you don't even give me a challenge!" That's when Chris' coach started yelling and he skated away, leaving Yuuri to whimper into his hands as he realized he had just called Chris shameless.

He smiled beneath his palms though, because he knew he now had Chris back, too.

(Up in the stands, someone with silver hair was half-fuming, half-crying in jealousy)

* * *

An accident had happened on the rink. Someone sprained their ankle and had to be taken out of the competition. It wasn't a serious injury, though. It didn't even cause a delay, despite the disappointment of some people in the statement.

Yuuri bit his lip in concern as he watched Lucian Boyle's coach escort him off the ice.

* * *

Yuuri was going last, but it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. What did bother him a lot was the sheer tension in the waiting room. It was different from the atmosphere of novice competitions and nothing like the senior competitions of his not-future. He was pretty sure he had never noticed such tension in the Junior Competitions of the not-future, possibly because he himself was too nervous to care at the time. Yuuri was also certain such tension had not been present at Courchevel, though that may have had something to do with Victor's awespiring presence. Takumi and Minako stood next to him like sentries, clearly just as uncomfortable as Yuuri himself was.

The Novice competitions were full of people chatting among themselves, but not with those they didn't know. Everyone had their own little groups and didn't stray from them. It was full of nervous anticipation, with the undercurrent of shy but still noticable sportsmanship as different coaches talked.

This was wary looks and competitiveness, nearing hostility. No one was talking, except in hushed voices. The tension wasn't just thick, it was choking. None of the camaraderie Yuuri experienced in the not-future was present. These people did not knw each other, or care for each other, or perhaps they were to shy and uncertain to try. Some were in their own world, fideting and worrying like Yuuri was once wont to do.

Yuuri had only stepped into the room for a few seconds, but he already hated it.

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri jumped as he was hugged around the waist from behind, the voice shattering the quiet and causing everyone to turn towards them.

Chris had, shamelessly, jumped on him in greeting again, leaving him spluttering as he tried to formulate a response. "Ch-chris-tophe!" he yelped.

"Aw, just call me Chris, Yuuri! You know you want to," Chris suggested, finally letting go of him.

"R-right, Chris..." Yuuri flushed, fidgeting slightly and looking down. When Chris went silent for a while, Yuuri looked up hesitantly. "Chris?" The older teen was blinking owlishly at him, but shook his head and smiled upon hearing his name.

"Now I know why Victor is..." the blonde trailed off thoughtfully.

"Why Victor is what?" Yuuri asked, curious.

"No, it's nothing, don't worry about it," Chris assured him, patting him on the back. "Anyways, want to tell me if your performance was dedicated to anyone special?" Chris tilted his head and smirked.

Yuuri experienced a moment of confusion before his retreating flush came back full force as he understood what Chris was saying. Well, Eros was total dedicated to not-future Victor who was his husband before Yuuri died and was reborn (apparently). "O-of course not! I'm thirteen!"

"Really now?" Chris raised an eyebrow, "So there's no reason for how Victor almost melted when you winked in his direction during your performance? I mean, if you're old enough to pull off moves like that, then you're old enough-"

"Stop!" Yuuri pressed a hand against Chris' mouth. Whatever the older teen was going to say, Yuuri did _not_ want to hear it. It was better safe than sorry.

Chris' eyes glinted with amusement as he pulled Yuuri's hand away. Before he could continue though, there was a noise of disdain from behind them. Blue-grey eyes glared at them coldly.

"You disgust me," Whitwind sneered, voice chilling. Yuuri shied away just slightly, even though most of Whitwind's focus was on Chris. Something about his hostility made Yuuri wary, far more wary than he had ever been of Yurio. Whitwind and Yurio's hotsility... they were completely different in a way Yuuri couldn't name. "This is a bloody competition, not some sort of fun little sleepover. We aren't here to make friends." The words were spat out harshly. "You failures should just go home with the rest of the rabble."

Chris faltered, just slightly before he smiled again, but less genuine this time. "No wonder _you_ seem to have no friends."

"Whitwind," Takumi stepped in with a firm voice, one arm thrown in front of a fuming Minako who looked ready to tear the antagonistic brunette limb from limb, "Please stay civil."

"And leave if you can't," Chris' coach added, glaring at the stoic man standing behind Whitwind, who was presumably his coach.

They were ignored as Whitwind turned and left for the rink, his coach placing a guiding hand on one of his shoulders.

* * *

"I didn't want to say this, but he's good, for a brat," Chris grumbled, watching Whitwind's short program with Yuuri.

"He's older than you are," Yuuri reminded Chris.

"Doesn't mean he's any less of a brat."

There was no denying Caelum Whitwind was good, no matter how terrible his attitude was. His presentation was amazing and he was somehow able to illustrate Moonlight Sonata's emotions perfectly in spite of his abrasive personality. If this was how he usually skated, it was little wonder that the British sixteen year old had been able to dominate the pair skating scene with his partner. He was both intimidating and talented.

Whitwind stood out from the rest, even more so for being British, since Britain wasn't known for producing talents in figure skating.

The score was given, a 62.77, placing him first out of the eleven that had performed by a margin of eleven points.

Yuuri was raking his brain for any memory of Whitwind in his not-future, but couldn't come up with anything. As unsocial as he may have been, he was pretty sure he would've remembered such a person from his Junior years in the not-future. But he didn't. He had no idea who Caelum Whitwind was. A sense of foreboding gripped him, a chill up his spine. He swallowed thickly and felt sweat bead at his temples as his worry grew. It wasn't so much that Yuuri thought something was going to happen as it was that some part of reality was cracking underneath him. There was a buried doubt resurfacing, and Yuuri couldn't name it, only feel it and hope that it wasn't true. He was unsettled.

He didn't notice the crease of Chris' brow as the older teen's turn came.

* * *

It was only when Chris stepped onto the ice that Yuuri realized there was something wrong with Chris. The blonde didn't seem to be able to completely smooth out his frown as he skated towards the middle of the rink. It was worrying, because in all his years of knowing Chris, the man had never looked anything but relaxed and confident. Chris was strangely brilliant at masking his own worries and not letting them get the better of him. 

Yuuri was almost expecting the first step out, but winced nonetheless as Chris wobbled and nearly fell, one hand out to steady himself. He wasn't expecting the second one.

It reminded him of JJ, and the Barcelona GPF, and Yuuri wondered if the same thing was happening to the Swiss skater right now. His movements were still sensual, but his muscles seemed tense and unable to relax into the flow of the music.

49.24

Yuuri bit his lip at seeing Chris' score. It wasn't a bad score at all and placed him third as of now, but it was far lower than expected of Chris. The older teen had his head down in the kiss and cry as his coach tried to comfort him.

* * *

 

When Yuuri's turn came, he was calm. Well, not calm, since he was worried for Chris, but he was holding together and managing to display a collected front for the public and his competitors. As soon as the music started, Yuuri knew that there was no way his score was going to be as high as he had managed in Courchevel. He was having trouble focusing on the music and his thoughts kept returning to Chris.

"No tano position jumps this time, huh?"

"Ah, that landing was a little wobbly. Seems like Katsuki is a little off his game today."

He was too aware of his movements, Yuuri realized as he launched into a camel spin, and immediately tried to get back into that headspace he was always in for competitions. Unfortunately, that caused him to under rotate his spin, stepping out a bit too soon as he felt himself wobbling.

"There's the Triple Lutz Triple Toe combo. A nice jump for the Lutz... And... There we have the Toe Loop!"

By the end of his program, he sighed in relief and anxiously got off the ice to thunderous applause. If everyone was so excited, then he couldn't have done too badly, right?

"The score for Yuuri Katsuki is... 61.86."

Ah. He had lost to Whitwind then.

* * *

 

**Katsuki and Giacometti - Beginner's Luck?**

October 13th 2006

Yesterday everyone who knows anyone witnessed the short program for men's singles - and the disasters that were Katsuki Yuuri and Christophe Giacometti's performances. Seen as the super juniors of these two years, neither skater performed to expectations this time, leaving fans and judges alike disappointed. Could their performances before only be a fluke? Or are they succumbing to the pressure of Junior Competitions? What will this mean for their figure skating futures...?

**Chinese Taipei Cup - Short Programs**

October 13th 2006

Caelum Whitwind (16) claimed first in the short programs for the Chinese Taipei Cup. Known for his performance in pairs with partner Rachel Pryde (15), Whitwind has proved his talent once more, beating Christophe Giacomett and Yuuri Katsuki by a fair margin...

**Rising Stars Katsuki and Giacometti**

October 13th 2006

Contrary to popular opinion, Katsuki (13) and Giacometti (14) both performed spectacularly in the Chinese Taipei Cup. The scores of 61.86 and 49.24 may seem low in comparison to what they have shown previously, but do, in fact, still place them as two of the best skaters in the Junior scene...

Victor frowned at the articles displayed on his BlackBerry and turned the damn thing off. God, it was getting addicting. No wonder the Americans called it CrackBerry. He hoped Yuuri and Christophe were okay. Neither had performed their best yesterday. Yuuri was mostly alright, but Christophe seemed to have succumbed to performance anxiety.

He pointedly ignored Yakov's messages as he took a seat in the stands.

Victor may or may not have forgotten to tell Yakov he was going to Taipei City...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like this chapter, everything seems awkward. And the delay is due to me actually doing work that needs to be finished. I have exams next week and I am NOT ready lol


	9. Chinese Taipei Cup Pt. 2 - Freeskate & Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head at the Chinese Taipei Cup. Meanwhile in England, Rei never sleeps and is very unhelpfully helpful.
> 
> (Also, drawings of Takumi, Rei and Caelum)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my best at the drawings (>///<) I haven't drawn anything in soooooo long. BTW, this is my way of shamelessly begging for fanart or some artists out there to help color/improve my art. My colorvision is beyond shit lmao so I never color anything. I had trouble uploading the pictures, too; my laptop wasn't loading photobucket or tinypic properly TAT
> 
> Hope y'all like!

[Takumi, Rei and Caelum](http://pho.to/AflyD) (Click for pic)

The day of the freeskate dawned bright, but not early. With winter fast approaching, the days were getting shorter and shorter, though the sun was still as bright as ever in Taipei. Yuuri had woken up at some godforsaken hour, unable to rest properly what with the events of the previous day. After the Short Programs, he hadn't even seen Chris. The Swiss skater had seemingly disappeared and that worried Yuuri greatly. Chris did not seem okay at all when he had gotten off the ice. He didn't seem well when he had gotten on the ice.

Uncertain of what to do, Yuuri started to pace before finally deciding to open up his laptop and check his Facebook at 7 am.

 **Rei:** Yuuri, save me

 **Rei:** Yuuri, this sucks

 **Rei:** Yuuri~ spamming you is fun

Yuuri blinked at the other 3 dozen similar messages before writing a reply.

 **Yuuri:** ?

The response was immediate.

 **Rei:** Oh hey

 **Rei:** You know I'm really hating it here

 **Rei:** I feel alone :(

The messages were surprising and a little worrying, and Yuuri hurried to reply.

 **Yuuri:** Why? What's wrong?

 **Rei:** I'm in England and I'm watching your competition

 **Rei:** Well, I was watching your competition

 **Rei:** What do you think is wrong?

His competition? What was wrong with watching his competition in- oh. Right, Whitwind is British.

 **Yuuri:** Is it about Whitwind?

 **Rei:** Yes

 **Rei:** Everyone around me supports him

 **Rei:** But don't worry, I am your loyal fan

 **Rei:** I'm more concerned with the rumors surrounding Whitwind

 **Rei:** I saw what happened with Giacometti and even you looked distracted

 **Rei:** You weren't skating at your best

 **Rei:** Victor told me you and Giacometti seemed really out of it

Yuuri frowned, confused at what Victor had anything to do with this. Wait, no way...

 **Yuuri:** Please don't tello me

 **Yuuri** : *tell

 **Rei:** That Victor's over there with you?

 **Rei:** Didn't you see his Facebook post last night?

Yuuri quickly clicked back to the home page and scrolled down.

 **Victor:** Chinese Taipei Cup! Good luck! You guys can do this!

Victor Nikiforov tagged **Yuuri Katsuki** and **Christophe Giacometti**

2635 likes

 **Chris:** Oh wow, thanks, Victor :)

 **Yakov:** VICTOR

 **Yakov:** You little [censored]!

 **Yakov:** What the [censored] do you think you're doing?!

 **Takumi:** Victor, please stop making your coach worry

 **Takumi:** I fear for his health

 **Victor:** Chill

 **Victor:** It's already warm enough in Taipei :)

 **Georgi:** Seriously, Victor  >:(

 **Rei:** Why so serious (@u@)

 **Chris:** (Ouo)

 **Victor:** ($u$)

Yuuri held his face in his hands in exasperation before he started typing.

 **Yuuri:** Victor, as much as I appreciate the support

 **Yuuri:** Please go back to Russia to support your coach instead

A few moments later...

 **Victor:** Σ(ﾟДﾟ)

 **Victor:** Yuuri don't want me?

 **Rei:** Burn  <3

 **Takumi:** I'll have to agree with Yuuri

 **Georgi:** Same

 **Chris:** Yakov seems like he needs your support more lol

 **Victor:** TAT

 **Victor:** TAT

 **Victor:** *heartbreak*

 **Josef:** Chris, if you have time to Facebook, you have time to get up and get ready for practise

 **Victor:** Busted!

Yuuri heaved a sigh. Victor was so - what did not-future Mila call it? - extra. The good thing was Chris seemed okay. But then again, there was no way to truly tell through a computer screen...

* * *

 

Chris wasn't okay. That much was obvious when he walked silently into the room where all the other skaters were. His coach was frowning in concern at the Swiss skater who looked uncharacteristically serious. His brows were furrowed and there was a tightness to his mouth. He had lost the casual confidence and cheer he wore like a second skin yesterday.

Yuuri was about to approach him when someone else stepped next to him.

"Looks like neither of you are all that, eh?" He whipped his head around, feeling a strange sort of steelly rage rise in him as his gaze alighted on Whitwind. The older teenager was smiling a smile that was colder than the arctic as he looked back at Yuuri. There wasn't an ounce of emotion in his eyes, not even satisfaction for all that he sounded like he was gloating. "You're all so fragile."

It was a strange thing to say, but Yuuri brushed it off, eyes narrowed in anger. "Whitwind, please leave my student alone," Takumi bit out, placing a hand on Yuuri's shoulder in support.

"Ihara? Getting involved? There's something I never thought I'd see," the drawl came from a man Yuuri identitied as Whitwind's coach, "It seems your sister is no longer at your side. I suppose you're finally fed up with hiding behind a girl almost ten years your junior."

"What the hell is your problem?" Minako snapped, stepping forwards aggressively and was met with a sneer from Whitwind's coach. Whitwind had yet to take his eyes off Yuuri's.

It was then that Pryde ran up to them, tugging on Whitwind's arm, "Please, can we not fight?" she implored, dragging the other teen away. Whitwind went without complaint, though his coach stayed for a moment longer to continue glaring at Takumi, who stared defiantly back.

When the man left, Takumi slumped, heaving a sigh.

"You alright?" Minako asked the man, sounding just as concerned as Yuuri felt for Takumi.

The retired Japanese skater looked worn out, but shook his head with a soft smile and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Yes, because _that_ was going to make Yuuri and Minako stop worrying. Takumi looked as if he knew Whitwind's coach and they obviously weren't on friendly terms.

"Shut up!"

The shout made Yuuri snap his head around because he knew that voice and he had never heard it raise in the way it just did. Chris was glaring venomously across the room at Whitwind, who had his hands raised in mock surrender, that blank smile still plastered on his face. The Swiss skater looked like he was about to throw himself at Whitwind in an all out brawl and was only barely being held back by his coach. Pryde was nowhere to be seen.

Yuuri gritted his teeth and made his way over just as Whitwind turned and left, Chris' glare following him.

"Chris."

Chris turned, startled, to look at Yuuri for a second before turning his head away and moving into a less aggressive position. "Ah, Y-yuuri, hey. You, uh... you saw that, huh?" he sounded sheepish, emabrassed, and it didn't suit him at all.

Yuuri's rage went out in a blink, worry replacing it. "Whatever he said, it doesn't matter. Don't listen to-"

"Yes, it does!"

Yuuri was taken aback as Chris snapped, flinching in shock. The Swiss skater cringed, his sudden rage melting into a bitter sort of embarassment.

"He's right. I'm just a part of the rabble," Chris muttered. The laugh he let out was bitter. "I'll never match up to any of you no matter how hard I try, will I?"

"Christophe-" Karpisek, Chris' coach, opened his mouth to speak, yet was cut off.

"Don't _Christophe_ me," the Swiss teen glared at his coach before turning his glare on Yuuri. "I know what you all think. Don't give me your pity. I'll never match up to you or to Nikiforov. I _know_ that. I can't even match up to _him_."

With that, Chris stalked off, leaving Yuuri and Karpisek behind and frozen in shock.

Yuuri bit his lip, watching Chris' retreating figure.

_Victor, what do I do?_

* * *

 

Try as he might, Victor was incapable of enjoying the Ladies SP or Ice Dancing OD. He had been sitting here since noon and it was already six by now. Well, okay, he hadn't just been sitting here. He had gotten up for refreshments and breaks and stuff, of course, but the point was that the Mens FS was in an hour and Victor was worried. He blamed Rei for it, mostly, since the girl had been talking about Yuuri's competitors and how the one from Britain was known for being a bit... intimidating to say the least. That was according to Takumi. Whitwind's coach was just a plain asshole, too. That coupled with yesterday's events kept Victor's mind busy.

On one hand, he desparately wanted to go and find out what on earth was wrong and if Yuuri and Christophe were okay, but on the other, Yakov had made him promise to not be a distraction for the two skaters he was (sort of?) friends with. He really felt guilty for pissing off Yakov, though he acted otherwise on Facebook. He would feel even guiltier for breaking his promise.

...

Oh who was kidding? He was Victor Nikiforov and he had no self-control whatsoever.

* * *

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri nearly jumped a foot into the air at the sound of his name being called and felt a heavy body collide with his. It was Victor, of course it was Victor.

"V-Victor! N-not that I'm not glad to see you..." Yuuri pulled away from Victor's embrace and frowned up at the older teen, "But you really shouldn't be here and put Yakov through so much stress like you do."

Victor's cheer immediately turned into a pout. "But I-"

"No buts, Victor, you can't do this the next time I have a competition," Yuuri told the other sternly. To his surprise, Victor merely beamed in response.

"Well, that's okay because we have our next competition together!" Yuuri blinked for a moment before smiling and shaking his head in amusement. "By the way, where's Chris?"

The mention of the distressed blonde skater immediately brought Yuuri's mood down. Yuuri bit his lip. "I don't know. He... Chris is..."

Victor sobered immediately, frowning in concern. "What happened? I mean, yesterday he didn't seem to be in the best shape on the ice. Chris is... I've never seen him like that."

"He... I think you should talk to him," Yuuri suggested, suddenly thinking of something. Had not-future Chris gone through something like this before? Yuuri... Yuuri wasn't as close to Chris as Victor was. Victor had known Chris when the other was a novice, even. Victor could probably help Chris. "I... I don't know what Whitwind said but... Chris wasn't in very good shape afterwards. He seemed to have lost all confidence in himself."

Victor looked worried for a moment before he nodded at Yuuri and ran off.

* * *

**Victor:** Rei

 **Victor:** Rei

 **Victor:** Help me

 **Rei:** ???

 **Rei:** S'up, cyclops?

 **Victor:** I need advice

 **Victor:** How do I encourage someone who's lost confidence in himself?

 **Rei:** You mean Giacometti?

 **Victor:** How did you know? ╏ ° ▃ ° ╏

 **Rei:** ?

 **Rei:** What do you mean how do I know?

 **Rei:** I mean it sure isn't Yuuri

 **Victor:** Oh

 **Victor:** Wait

 **Victor:** What do you mean by that?

 **Rei:** You have no life beyond Giacometti, me, Takumi and Yuuri

 **Victor:** Σ(T□T)

 **Rei:** Anyways

 **Rei:** I'll be happy to help

 **Rei:** I'm not too sure of the situation though

 **Rei:** Like, what's the source of his lack of confidence

 **Victor:** I don't know

 **Rei:** Then how the fuck am I meant to help you

 **Rei:** You could always try the generic I believe in you

 **Rei:** You're great

 **Rei:** Don't believe what others say

 **Victor:** Well...

Victor: I think it was because of Whitwind. That's what Yuuri said

 **Victor:** Yuuri said Whitwind said something

 **Rei:** Hm... Well, I think you should go and, I don't know, ask him about it maybe?

 **Rei:** And then let your personality sort the rest out

 **Rei:** Since it's you, I think it'll be fine

 **Victor:** Oh really!?

 **Victor:** Thx Rei! （＾ω＾）

 **Victor:** Btw, I wanted to ask

 **Victor:** Do you not sleep?

 **Victor:** You're online like, 24/7

 **Rei:** Sleep is for the weak, my friend

 **Rei:** And I'm not weak

 **Victor:** (ﾟ0ﾟ;

 **Victor:** ...

 **Victor:** Hey! What do you mean by my personality will sort the rest out!?

 **Victor:** Rei? Should I be offended?

 **Victor:** RRRREEEEEEIIII????

 **Victor:** ⊙︿⊙

* * *

 

Yuuri was worried. Chris was due to perform next but the Swiss skater was nowhere to be seen. Nor was Victor, for that matter. What was worse was that Chris' coach was at the rink, alone and worried, and apparently had no idea where Chris went. Takumi and Minako looked equally as worried, standing next to him.

"The next skater is Christophe Giacometti from Switzerland!"

He looked left and right, straining to get a good look at the rink. There was moment where Yuuri thought Chris wouldn't come, but then the blonde came dashing to the rink and quickly got onto the ice, leaving Yuuri to heave a sigh in relief. Chris' posture was confident and he took a lap across the ice to gave and blow kisses to his fans. A smile curled at the edge of Yuuri's lips and he was glad Chris seemed to have gotten his confidence back.

It was then that Victor walked over to them, greeting the three of them, and Yuuri turned to smile at the silver-haired teenager. Takumi smiled at him and Minako grinned.

"It looks like whatever you did worked, Victor," Yuuri informed him. "You know, I'll have to take back what I said before. I'm glad you're here, Victor. I doubt anyone except you would've been able to restore Chris' confidence like that."

Victor beamed at the praise and hugged Yuuri tightly, though he was yanked off by Minako and Takumi when they decided the hug had gone on for too long. As he was pulled away, his beaming smile turned into a slight frown of confusion. "Wait, but, I didn't really... do anything?" Yuuri blinked at him. "I found Chris, yes, but all I really did was ask him what Whitwind had said and remind him that we're friends so of course I would support him. Did he forget about that or something?" Victor pouted at the thought. "He also told me I had no life. I so do have a life."

Yuuri slapped a hand over his mouth, but was unable to stop himself from giggling, feeling lighter at Victor's comment. His giggles made Takumi and Minako start laughing along with him at Victor's cluelessness and the teen puffed up his cheeks in mock anger. "Hey," Victor whined, "Don't laugh at me!"

* * *

Chris had done excellently at his freeskate, coming away with a 133.14, which was over two points above Whitwind's 130.56. He hadn't stepped out for a single jump and there was something boyant in his performance that had never been there before.

Yuuri himself had felt uplifted by the events of that day and he had come away from his performance with a score of 138.31, boosting him to first place.

Standing on the podium together, he and Chris traded grins, one proud another slightly apologetic. Yuuri then looked to the other side at Whitwind who had that blank smile plastered to his face again as he held the second place medal and Yuuri felt a slight melancholia overcome him. He could see no trace of satisfaction. Annoyance was written into the slight slouch of his shoulders and boredom came in the form of the tilt of his head. Then Whitwind turned to look back at Yuuri, eyes narrowed in scorn.

Yuuri was facing this teen at the JGPF and he wasn't sure how to deal with it.

* * *

 

 **Pichu:** Congrats to Victor Nikiforov, Yuuri Katsuki, Caelum Whitwind, Winston Stephens, Mikhail Ivanov,  Christophe Giacometti, Lucius Wang and Raymond Dalton (by order of score) for making it to the JGPF!

Special congratulations to Katsuki for making it the first year! Those step sequences were divine!

And three cheers for Giacometti making a comeback at the Taipei FS!

Awe and applause to Nikiforov for BREAKING THE WORLD RECORD OMFG!!!

*

 **IceBB:** This is amazing! Yuuri has really out done himself, as has Victor! I'm glad Chris managed to get the wind back in his sails for his FS! Good luck to everyone!

*

 **TheBrit:** I'm happy that we finally have a shot at a major skating competition thanks to Whitwind. Congrats, Caelum! We're all rooting for you!

*

 **IceFire23** : One from Russia, one from Japan, one from Ukraine, one from Switzerland, one from Britain and three from the good ol' US of A XD Why am I not surprised?

**

 **BladesAndThings:** Wang is American? I thought he was Chinese???

***

 **IceFire23:** Ethnically Chinese, but, well, America is a nation of people coming from all sorts of different countries. Everyone there is technically ethnically European, African or Asian lol. No new race mutated into existence after people went to America

****

 **BladesAndThings:** Makes sense

*

 **SYCKS:** GAY

**

 **KYcute:** That was so random and makes no sense whatsoever wtf

**

 **IceR:** Gay is gr8

***

 **KYcute:** That's equally as random XD and makes marginally more sense but still has nothing to do with the actual topic...?

*

 **VNiki8:** 8D This is awesome!

*

 **FrozenPond:** Go Caelum, go!

*

 **HotWind:** Caelum!!!  <3 <3 <3 Kick their asses!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caelum has a huge following lol
> 
> And yes, that's Phichit.


	10. Precipice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Japan, Yuuri has nightmares. In Russia, Victor gets a new rinkmate. In Switzerland, Chris makes a Victuuri chatroom. In Thailand, Phitchit is inspired. In Britain, Caelum is plotting. Rei just hijacks everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY IB TESTS ARE JUST OVER A WEEK AWAY!!! WTF am I doing????
> 
> I now know the history and etymology of fandom terms. Slash came from the mid 1970s with K/S (Kirk/Spock) and Shipping came from X-files in the mid 1990s. The first use of it as a noun (both ship and shipper) is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as 1996 for ship and 1997 for shipper. The use of it as a verb started in 2005 (to ship someone and someone). Amazing. None of this is anachronistic lol.
> 
> Here come Sara, Michele, Phichit AND Seung-gil lol. And ooh Caelum what are you planning...?

"Oof!" Yuuri landed with a thud as he fell out of the jump he had attempted to execute. Shaking out his hand, which he had sort of landed on, he picked himself up.

He was most certainly not having a good day.

He had woken up from a series of nightmares he could not remember, which had brought down his mood, which in turn had brought down his performance. Takumi was off somewhere and today was a day off for the other two coaches at the rink, so he had no coach to watch him. Usually, this wasn't a problem, but he just couldn't seem to be able get his Triple Axel right. He was so fustrated and shaken that he couldn't even figure out why.

"Yuuri!" Yuuri startled at the voice, whipping around. He knew that voice.

"Rei!?" he yelped, seeing the girl smirking at him from behind the barrier. He hurriedly skated over, feeling his mood lighten at the sight of his friend. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he gave her a hug, grinning.

"Holiday," Rei explained. "For such an expensive university, they sure do give a lot of holidays. You'd think you would have less time for play, but apparently not."

"Oh, how long are you on holiday for?"

Rei huffed, seeming a bit put out. "A whole one and a half months, can you believe it? Oh well, I'm glad that I at least get the chance to watch the Junior Grand Prix Finals in person. Also," Rei searched through her bag for a moment before pulling out a CD and handing it to Yuuri. "We finished the song you asked me to help compose. This is the lyrical version."

Yuuri's eyes shone as he accepted the CD and beamed at Rei. "This is great! Thanks!"

"It's too bad you can't use lyrical music for your performances," Takumi sighed softly before frowning at Yuuri in worry. "Also, what was that Triple Axel I just saw? You don't seem to be in an optimal headspace today."

"Did something happen?" Rei added, tilting her head a little. "You look like you haven't slept well."

"I-I'm fine," Yuuri stuttered.

"Don't lie, Yuuri," Rei scolded, "I can see right through you."

"I, um," Yuuri bit his lip, casting his gaze towards the floors. "I had nightmares last night."

"What were they about?" Rei prompted.

"I don't... remember," Yuuri huffed out a fustrated breath and ran a hand through his hair. He stared at the doors just to the right as he continued speaking. "I just remember the feeling of falling and instability. And panic... I woke up really fustrated for some reason."

"How was your performance yesterday?"

Takumi answered for him, saying, "Yuuri was well yesterday. He didn't flub a single jump. His freeskate was coming along nicely so... It was a bit surprising to see how much your condition had deteriorated today. You aren't hurt from falling, are you?"

Yuuri shook his head. "Only very minor injuries."

"Strange," Rei commented, pressing a finger to her lip. The action reminded Yuuri of not-future Victor and he stared for a moment before blinking out of it. His head ached... "Either way... I think you should take a break today. We can go catch up. Just don't invite any of the other kids, they're annoying."

Yuuri failed to stifle a surprised giggle at that and nodded his agreement. It had been a while since he had seen Rei after all. Facebook conversations just weren't the same.

* * *

Potential. It was something he had in droves and Yuri was very happy to make that known to everyone. After meeting his idol, his namesake, Yuri was even more dtermined to prove himself and make himself into something great. He wanted to be someone worthy to stand on the same ice as Yuuri, and, of course, take down his greatest rival, Victor Nikiforov.

To tell the complete truth, Yuri also admired Nikiforov. He'd never, not even under threat of pain of death, admit that out loud to anyone, but Nikiforov skated beautifully as well. His technical elements were beyond amazing, though neither his step sequences nor his presentation were as good as Yuuri. There were several reasons Yuri was such a definite fan of Yuuri's and not nearly as much as a fan of Nikiforov. One of them was that it was Yuuri who truly entranced people with his skating and Yuri wished he could find the same sort of soul in his skating. Another was because... well, Yuri wasn't sure how to explain it, but Nikiforov seemed very suspicious when around Yuuri. Yuri didn't trust him. (It's saying something when a five year old Yuri realizes Victor has a crush on Yuuri, even if Yuri didn't fully understand what it was about)

Yuri's dreams were big, but he knew he could achieve them. After all, he was far, far ahead of anyone else in his class. Still, this was something he hadn't expected.

Two days ago, Yakov Feltsman had agreed to train him. It was unheard of for the man to take students who weren't old enough to compete in Novice competitions. The youngest was Mila Babicheva, even Victor hadn't come under Yavkov's wing before he turned ten. Yuri was joining at six, four years away from being old enough for the Novice section.

Now, in St. Petersburg with his grandfather, Yuri was eager for his first practice session.

"Yurio!" Yuri smirked as Victor's surprised experission came into view, "What are you doing here?"

Oh, this was going to be a blast.

* * *

 **Victor:** Little Yurio is now my rinkmate!!!! ≧ω≦

 **Victor Nikiforov** tagged **Yuuri Katsuki** , **Christophe Giacometti** , **Rei Ihara** and **Takumi Ihara**

4,472 likes

 **Rei:** Where on earth do you get those emoticons?

 **Victor:** Japan

 **Rei:** Wat

 **Yuuri:** Wow! Yakov agreed to train Yurio?

 **Yuuri:** Tell Yurio I said hi and congratulations!

 **Chris:** That's pretty amazing

 **Chris:** He looks young

 **Chris:** He's what? 5? 6?

 **Victor:** He's six

 **Victor:** Will do! @Yuuri

 **Takumi:** I thought Coach Feltsman only trained those old enough to be Novices

 **Yakov:** He has a lot of potential

 **Rei:** He's a brat, but apparently he's rather talented

 **Yuuri:** I'm happy for Yurio

 **Yuuri:** And he's not a brat

 **Victor:** Yes he is

 **Rei:** See, Victor agrees

 **Victor:** He asked you to marry him

 **Rei:** ???

 **Yuuri:** !

 **Yuuri:** I thought we agreed to not talk about that!

 **Victor:** We did?

 **Victor:** I don't remember :P

 **Rei:** Context!

 **Rei:** I need context!

 **Victor:** Weren't you there?

 **Victor:** It happened in Courchevel

 **Yuuri:** She dragged Takumi-san away, remember?

 **Rei:** What happened?

 **Rei:** I shoulda stayed.

 **Rei:** Let Takumi-nii kill you or whatever

 **Rei:** I just need to know what happened

 **Victor:** O.O

* * *

Pichu: Hey

SwissChris: Hey, Phichit

SwissChris: S'up?

Pichu: Is it just me, or does Victor seem to have a crush on Yuuri?

SwissChris: !!!

SwissChris: You noticed, too?

Pichu: Of course.

Pichu: I saw all of Yuuri's performances

Pichu: The camera got a glimpse of Victor during Courchevel

Pichu: The look he was giving Yuuri

SwissChris: I know right?

SwissChris: I mean there's a bit of an age difference

SwissChris: But that look was of pure adoration

Pichu: When they get older it won't matter

Pichu: Love is love <3

SwissChris: We must make a Victuuri fanclub

Pichu: Victuuri?

Pichu: Oh nice!

SwissChris: Wait one second

_SwissChris has invited Pichu, NoReiOfSun, GeorgiP ChillSara and CrispM to a groupchat_

_Pichu rennamed the chat to Victuuri Skater Club_

NoReiOfSun: What's this?

SwissChris: A Victuuri fanclub for friendly skaters who ship Victuuri

NoReiOfSun: i'm not a skater

ChillSara: what's Victuuri?

CrispM: ship?

GeorgiP: That explained nothing

SwissChris: Well, my dear Rei, you used to be one

SwissChris: And we know each other because we know Victor and Yuuri and we ship them!

Pichu: Victuuri is the relationship name for Victor and Yuuri

Pichu: And to ship means you support them as a couple <3

Phichu: Is that better?

GeorgiP: Yes, and nice

GeorgiP: I'm currently Victor's wingman

GeorgiP: So I support the formation of this club

GeorgiP: Trust me when I say Victor needs... a lot of help

SwissChris: Oh

SwissChris: Oh Victor...

SwissChris: Hey, why is your name like that, Rei?

NoReiOfSun: because england doesn't have a single ray of sun

SwissChris: ... oh.

SwissChris: What's the deal with you and puns...?

Pichu: I like it

NoReiOfSun: thanks

SwissChris: Before anything, let's introduce ourselves first

SwissChris: I know Rei doesn't know anyone except me in this chat

Pichu: I'm not sure who Sara and M are either

Pichu: But I'm Phichit Chulanont

ChillSara: oh, hey phichit

ChillSara: this is Sara Crispino

ChillSara: and CrispM is my brother, Michele. You've competed against him before

CrispM: I can introduce myself, Sara...

Pichu: Yeah I did!

Pichu: Hiya!

GeorgiP: I'm Georgi Popovich, Victor's rinkmate

NoReiOfSun: i'm rei ihara

NoReiOfSun: my brother coaches yuuri

NoReiOfSun: the rest of you are all novices, right?

CrispM: yup

GeorgiP: I'm a Senior

NoReiOfSun: also, if victor lays a hand on yuuri

NoReiOfSun: i will kick him in the face

NoReiOfSun: and he will lose that hand

_NoReiOfSun has left the chat._

SwissChris: ...

ChillSara: ...

CrispM: ...

Pichu: ...

GeorgiP: ...

Pichu: Well, that escalated quickly

SwissChris: But she told me she shipped them! D:

* * *

 

**Caelum Whitwind for Gold!**

October 21st 2006

In figure skating, Britain has never had much of good track record. Figure skating medals have generally gone to skaters from countries such as Russia, America and Japan, to name a few. However, this year we have a chance at the gold and this is all thanks to Caelum Whitwind (16). The young pair skater who dazzled everyone with his performances in the Novice division with his partner, Rachel Pryde (15) has finally entered the Junior division, but not in the category we all expected. Instead, he's gotten a place at the Men's Singles for the JGPF. This could be Britain's first major medal in fiure skating since1980s Ice Dancing...

Phichit breathed deeply, centering himself as he glided onto the ice and smiling. His second competition would be coming up soon. He had participated in the International Cup of Nice and gotten third place, but that didn't bother him much. He dreamed big and he was optimistic. Though he had lost to twelve year old Michele Crispino and a skater with very good technical elements called Seung-Gil, Phichit had a great time at the competition and knew that this was what he wanted do pursue. He was going to be a figure skater and he was determined to make his country proud.

But the person that had really settled this decision for him was Caelum Whitwind. Phichit was a fan of many skaters. Among those, there were three he idolized. Katsuki Yuuri was one of them, as his step sequences were amazing and his presentation entrancing. Yuuri was amazing, but the admiration Phichit held for him was not hero worship, just simple amazement. The hero worship was reserved for Victor Nikiforov, but that was obvious; who wouldn't idolize him? The last was Caelum Whitwind though his presenation wasn't as good as some of Yuuri's best and his technical components couldn't beat Victor. He knew of some of the rumors that were spread about the British skater. The teen was menacing, especially in competitions, and some even accused him of sabotage, though they were few and far between. But Whitwind was the one who was was living the closest to what Phichit dreamed of doing.

Neither Thailand nor Britain were particularly renowned for figure skating; Britain hadn't medalled at an ISU sanctioned competition since the 1980s (and that was for ice dancing) and Thailand hadn't ever.

To know Whitwind was qualifying in the finals brought hope to Phichit, no matter what reservations Phichit and others may have had about the teen's personality.

Phichit closed his eyes and jumped. One, two, three rotations.

_Yes!_

He laughed as he landed, whooping in joy.

All he had to do was keep practicing. One day, he was certain he would succeed.

* * *

 

It wasn't working. Whatever he was doing, it wasn't working. To be exact, it wasn't working _fast enough_. He had planned this for a while now, but it had yet to yield any results. He was growing fustrated. Rachel kept telling him to stay calm and wait for his chance, but he was creating chances, opportunities, to no avail. The bait wasn't being taken. He had thought it was perfect, but it evidently wasn't. He had even subtly changed his attitude _just for this_.

Caelum huffed, leaning against the barrier of the rink and taking small sips of water as he stared at his phone. Behind him, music played as the participants of the British Figure Skating Championships performed their routines. Honestly, it didn't interest him. It was obvious who was going to win. _Himself_ , of course. Britain was in no way known for it's figure skating. It simply wasn't a popular sport for athletes. These competitors weren't important.

What _was_ important was his plan. It had to be executed before the FS of the JGPF. If it didn't... Caelum scowled darkly. He would have to adjust his attitude slightly. Maybe be a little less condecending instead of more.

Giacommetti was unfortunate collateral. Talented, but just fragile enough for Caelum to tear down. Katsuki was far stronger than he looked and Caelum had underestimated the Japanese teen's mental fortitude, having failed to accomplish with Katsuki what he had with Giacommetti. Nonetheless, it should make no difference in the end.

Sighing, the British teen closed the browser of his phone, hiding away thousands of well-wishes and encouragements. He wasn't arrogant enough to think that all of Britain's attention was on him, but he knew that the pressure for him to succeed was significant. He was talented at this: that, he could say as a fact. Having scored a place in the JGPF proved it, but it ultimately meant nothing to him. It only mattered if he himself desired his own success. If he didn't, well, he didn't owe anyone anything.

Shaking away those thoughts, Caelum flicked open the keypad of his phone and typed in a number, feeling uncharacteristically hesitant. He glanced at his coach, who was on the other side of the rink, too busy watching other skaters fail to pay attention to Caelum. Rolling his eyes, Caelum left for the locker rooms for privacy.

It was another slight hesitation before he pressed call and put the phone to his ear, keeping his eyes on the door.

Three beeps... and then, "Caelum?"

"Lucian," Caelum greeted the American skater, smiling genuinely. "How's your ankle?"

"Oh, well, it's healing, if slowly. Thank you for your concern," Lucian replied, sounding strangely cheerful for someone who had been injuried, during the Taipei Cup no less, and thus was unable to participate in the said JGPF qualifying competition.

"That's good to hear."

"And how are you?"

"Fustrated."

Immediately, the voice on the other side of the line turned worried. "Because of what happened at the Taipei Cup right? Or rather, what didn't happen. Caelum, I don't think you should do this. What if you get caught?" Lucian fussed.

"I won't," the words were said with conviction and Caelum knew he wouldn't. Rachel was there to help him after all. She held the same worries, but she was his partner and wouldn't let him do anything like this without her support. "Don't worry Luce, I'll succeed. I'll soon be rid of him," Caelum smirked, "and even if he realizes, if anyone realizes, I'll have already struck and the point would be moot anyways."

"I hope you know what you're doing..."

"Oh, I do." Caelum's gaze darkened. "I definitely do."


	11. JGPF Pt. 1 - Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The JGPF is finally underway and Caelum's strange inaction is noted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONE WITH IB TESTS!!!! FUCK YEAH
> 
> Oh my, this chapter be LATE. Though I will place all blame on my laptop for deleting my draft, so I had to rewrite this entire chapter, which killed my motivation. I also had a lot of trouble writing the Eros scene, since I mean, what else can I really say. It's gonna get repetitive lol. You've no idea how many times I listened to Eros trying to write something. I originally got inspiration from listing to Yuri on ICE but then I realized I was listening to the wrong song ay. In the end I just gave up.
> 
> I also realized I really hate the obvious attempt at foreshadowing in the previous chapter. It annoys the fuck out of me when reading it over. I think I might edit it before the chapter after this comes out. Goddamn it Caelum you melodramatic little shit, making it seem like a good idea at the time.
> 
> EDIT: Ay, I forgot the chapter summary

Yuuri was glad the nightmares had stopped before he had flown over.

Sofia, Bulgaria was frosted over, a layer of snow dusted the ground though the temperature was only hovering around freezing. The low-set buildings gleamed with frost, the roads were wide and open, not atypical of a European city. It was beautiful, definitely, but Yuuri had a hard time completely relaxing. Oh, Rei tried to get him to, her enthuasiasm at exploring mostly hidden, but contagious nonetheless, even with Takumi stumbling along behind them like a zombie.

There was a charge in the air; Yuuri could feel it. Something that told him things were coming to a head. It _was_ the JGPF, after all. And perhaps that was all it was, nerves at getting this far. No matter how experienced he was, no matter what memories he had, getting nerves was natural at such a big competition. Still, a soft voice in the back of Yuuri's head was telling him he had forgotten something, that _something_ unexpected and possibly terrible was about to occur.

"The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral," Rei announced, nudging Yuuri out of his thoughts. "Impressive, isn't it?" She gave him a look, like he was meant to know what she was talking about. Yuuri blinked and stared at the massive cathedral in front of them and it's towering white walls.

"Oh, it is rather amazing," Yuuri decided, trying to sound focused. It was amazing, but Yuuri's heart wasn't into admiring architecture.

Rei just rolled her eyes.

"It's too early to admire architecture," Takumi grumbled, rubbing at his face, "I can't believe you dragged us out of bed at five in the morning for this. Plus, it's freezing!"

"I can't believe I dragged you out. You're terrible," Rei replied dryly. "At least Yuuri-kun isn't complaining."

"It's _five thirty in the morning_!"

"And Yuuri isn't complaining, but you are."

"I'm hungry, cold and tired and it's _five thirty_ in the _goddamn_ morning and you expected me - of all people, me - to be okay with it?" Takumi countered with a hint of incredulousness.

"Don't be lazy."

Yuuri just sighed as the siblings continued to bicker. Though it only happened on early mornings like today, Rei had woken Takumi up early enough times before her departure to England that Yuuri no longer batted an eye at Takumi's moodiness. Still, he was particularly petulant today, possibly because he hadn't been woken early ever since Rei had left for England. He let the argument fade into the background as he frowned up at the towering cathedral.

_God, I hope everything will turn out okay._

* * *

 

There was a lot of people. That was obvious, since it _was_ the JGPF. The stands were filled to the brim, drowning out every other noise with deafening chatter. Occaisionally, shrieking laughter or some other noise of cheer or agitation would rise over the rabble, but for the most part the noise level stayed even. The stands were colorful, if terrifying, looming over the rink like a rainbow monster. Yuuri's right eye twitched.

"Oh no," Takumi immediately said, dragging Yuuri away from the rink.

"Breathe, Yuuri, you aren't breathing!" Rei ordered from beside him, causing Yuuri to inhale deeply. "Mayhaps it wasn't a good idea to arrive early."

"May _haps_ it wouldn't be a good idea to arrive late?" Takumi responded.

"Mayhaps it would've been better to arrive when _all the other_ participants arrive?"

"Mayhaps if _someone_ didn't drag us off to sightsee we would've arrived _before_ the crowd?"

The bickering helped, Yuuri decided as he exhaled, so he focused on that. It was normal and calming. He had no idea why he still became so anxious, especially at the sight of a crowd. It was etting repetitive in a despairing way, rather than an annoying way, and sometimes he wondered if he's never truly be rid of this curse. He felt like he should be over it, what with his experience in both lifetimes, yet it still didn't seem to work for him. He was coping much better with his nerves now, though. It fluttered in his stomach nauseatingly and made his chest tight with dread, but it didn't manage to overwhelmn him in the same way it once had seemingly a lifetime ago. For that, he had to give Rei and Takumi his gratitude. And Yuuri had hope that one day the embers of anticipation would replace it.

A lifetime ago, Celestino and Minako and his family had tried in Yuuri's younger years, but it hadn't worked for Yuuri.

"Yuuri!"

The familiar voice made him turn, more in surprise than anything, just in time to catch Yuri as the young boy launched himself at Yuuri in a hug. "H-hey, Yurio," Yuuri managed, almost stumbling. He smiled down at the head of blonde hair snuggled up to him.

"Yuuri!" this time it was Victor who jogged up to them, looking at Yurio in discontent. Yurio pulled back from Yuuri just enough to stick his tongue out at Victor before hugging Yuuri tighter with a smug look. Victor scowled and Rei coughed to hide a laugh. With a grin of his own, Yuuri pulled Yurio closer.

"Yuri!" Both Yuuri and Yurio looked up to see Yakov striding over with a worried frown. "You shouldn't run off like that on your own!" Yurio scowled and let go of Yuuri in favor of crossing his arms and arguing back with the coach in angry Russian. Victor took this chance to give Yuuri his own hug. "Hey, Victor," Yuuri greeted, hugging him back.

When Victor didn't let go, Rei and Takumi dragged them apart, making Victor pout.

Movement caught his eye and he saw Whitwind walking towards them with a scowl on his face. He tensed in preparation for confrontation, but the older teen simply walked right by them, not even seeming to notice them. Whitwind's coach was nowhere to be seen either. Yuuri watched as the British skater ran a hand through his own hair and disappeared into the hall beyond them.

"Yuuri! Victor!" The familiar voice had Yuuri turning the other way to see Chris making his way over.

"Hey, Chris!" Victor greeted cheerfully as Yuuri waved in greetings. The two light-haired skaters began chatting casually as Yurio began relating his experiences under Yakov's tutalage with poorly-hidden excitement.

* * *

The florecent lights gleamed sharply above him, reflecting off the shimmering costume he had for Eros that peeked out under his open jacket. Beside him stood Victor, jacket zipped up over the costume he wore, blue just visible over the collar of the jacket. They stretched together in a sort of companiable silence, though Victor seemed fidgety. Yuuri guessed that Victor didn't usually stretch while waiting for his turn in the rink for competitions. He also suspected that the only reason Victor kept silent was because Yuuri had his earphones on and would ignore everything Victor said anyways.

On the other side of the room, Whitwind leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. His coach was still absent from his side.

The inaction displayed by the British skater was strange, considering how antagonistic he had been during the Taipei Cup. It didn't exactly set Yuuri on edge, but it definitely _was_ distracting. Chris, on the other hand, just seemed determined to ignore the older skater with all that he could and was doing a pretty good job of it. Suddenly, Whitwind was looking straight back at him with narrowed eyes and Yuuri quickly turned his head away, fighting a flush of embarassment at getting caught.

"Hey."

The voice made him startle and look up. Whitwind stood in front of him, head cocked to one side. In his peripherals, he saw Rei and Takumi tense, watching them closely. Victor placed a hand on Yuuri's shoulder in concern as Yuuri straightened up to face the British teen, wary. Chris was the one who responded though, breaking his silent oath to pretend Whitwind didn't exist.

"What do you want?" His voice was cold, bordering hostile. When Yuuri glanced at him, he didn't look openly angry, but nowhere near happy either. A sort of strained neutrality.

Whitwind tutted in annoyance at the tone, brows furrowing a little. "Better watch yourself," he snapped before turning and leaving for the rink.

"What was that?" Victor hissed out after a moment of shock.

Yuuri shook his head in worry. He had no idea.

* * *

 

Though unsettled by previous events, Yuuri's Eros was still as sensual as ever. It took him a little longer than usual to sink into the music, but he could afford a little sloppiness on his step sequences that he couldn't with his jumps, all of which were in the second half. The ease of which he emulated what sensuality he had experienced in his not future - and in spite of his drifting thoughts no less - was embarassing, to be honest.

He had skated Eros so many times, too many he sometimes felt like, that it was becoming repetitive and dull. His Junior Debut seemed like eons ago, and the ice couldn't have felt more different. Whereas once each glide and spin and jump - no matter how many times he had practiced the same routine - was an adventure and exploration of its own, now there was something distant about the rink and the fans and even the music. No, _especially_ the music. His mind was all too drawn by the distractions he had been provided with, not out of sheer worry, but because the music couldn't hold all of his attention anymore.

It wasn't until his score of 74.54 came out that he realized he was, somehow, in some inexplicable way, _bored_. He had paused on his way away from the Kiss and Cry to properly process that thought.

Since his Junior Debut, his emotions had, less and less, been shaping the music. He had become distant from it. From _Eros_. And that was at once both a terrifying and confusing thought. Perhaps, Yuuri thought to himself, this was how Victor had began to feel before he came to Yuuri.

Yet deep down he knew that there was something fundamentally different about it and wondered if he was losing his not-future, rather than letting it go.

"You ungrateful _brat_!"

The yell drew Yuuri's curiosity even as he jumped and he peeked around the corner of the wall he was near to see Whitwind walking away from his fuming coach. He frowned to himself. What on earth was that about?

* * *

**Junior Grand Prix Finals of Ice Skating**

December 7th 2006

Today marks the beginning of the Junior Grand Prix Finals of the 2006-07 season! And what an exciting season it has been so far! Not only did Victor Nikiforov choose to delay his Senior Debut to continuing competing in the Junior Division, but Yuuri Katsuki has also managed to dazzle us with his amazing performances, earning a place in the Finals despite his shockingly young age. We hope that both of them will attain great results in the Finals!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about how short this is. Eeeuuugh the real action is in the next chapter which is also the end of the junior-yuuri part of the story. Hope you enjoyed it!


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